The world today is talking about the roaring success of ISRO missions. The entire nation celebrated when Chandrayaan-3 recently landed on the moon and fulfilled its mission objectives with absolute precision. Our scientists have taken Bharat’s space sector to new heights as we have become the fourth nation on Earth to land on the moon, with many more ambitious missions lined up in the coming years.
However, besides the pride that ISRO missions have brought to Bharat, we must also look at the tremendous impact that they will have on our technology. Let us look at the different ways in which they will drive Bharat’s unprecedented growth in technology in the coming decade.
Navic maps
Bharat today has its own navigation system, unlike many other developed and developing nations in the world. This gives Bharat a huge boost towards realising its objective of self-reliance, or limited reliance, in the field of technology by launching Navic. But what many are not aware of is that the roots of this Navic system go back to ISRO missions. It was the dream of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to build Bharat’s own navigation systems to reduce the dependence on Western counterparts so that we are not dependent on them for day-to-day activities.
It was ultimately the result of ISRO missions that we were able to get the Navic system. It was eventually launched for public use and is now available to use on all smartphones today. While some may not realise why having our own navigation system is extremely important, it is undeniably necessary today for us to be self-reliant for all vital fields and walks of life.
Growth in defence capability
The reason why ISRO has faced and continues to face malware, privacy, and security attacks is that space research directly or indirectly drives the defence capability of the nation. The engines and technology that we use for rockets have been pivotal in creating our own missile systems like Agni. Agni is a long-range missile that is capable of infiltrating thousands of kilometres inside enemy territory and hitting targets with precision. It is one of Bharat’s biggest defence weapons against China, which is our biggest immediate threat.
The world remains flabbergasted about the cost-effectiveness of ISRO missions. Bharat is capable of sending higher payloads to space with very affordable yet high-quality engines. Naturally, it has also empowered Bharat to produce cost-effective missiles like Agni and Brahmos at a time when the nation does not have sky-high budgets for defence research and development. The success of ISRO missions is thus a massive boost to our defence growth itself.
Other research and development
One of the biggest achievements of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is the way it managed to conduct extensive scientific research in the freezing-cold conditions of the moon’s south pole. It is virtually impossible for any machine to function, let alone explore, in such weather as it causes icing at a rapid pace. However, the Pragyaan Rover was able to conduct its research with efficiency long after coming out of the Vikram Lander.
Now that the world is moving swiftly towards space tourism, the cost-effective way in which ISRO managed to send the rocket to the moon and operate its space vehicle in such inhabitable conditions. These achievements of ISRO missions have triggered young scientists to explore more possibilities in this technology, and this, in turn, will unlock more technical inventions in this direction in the future.
These are some of the many ways in which ISRO missions are steering Bharat’s growth in futuristic technology and the long-term impact it will have on our budding scientific minds.
Image source: SNS