India's space program was founded under leadership of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1960s. ISRO is the outcome of the policies and funding provided by successive government since Nehru . India space mission started in humble manner with limited resources but with Himalayan dreams and passion. Vikram Sarabhai with full backing from Congress governments has been father of Indian space program. Today what we see is outcome of seeds planted in 1960s , nurtured by different governments . India, inspite of facing resource crunch , always dreamt of Science , Technology advancements since independence . Chandrayaan and other space missions have fired imagination of Indian youth . It's for current political leadership to continue to encourage Science , Technology instead of mumbo jumbo being promoted by some RW elements from RSS ideology .
5
Nice try, but wouldn't the money spent on this have been better spent helping the millions of sick and starving people within their borders. I suppose similar criticisms could also be directed at other countries with space programs, but what was India hoping to achieve that couldn't have been done better by others - an inflated ego feeds or cures no one.
47
@Emeritus Bean, Sorry to disagree vehemently with you. All aspects of life need to move forward. Suffering is a fact of life. If poverty, hunger and illness were the only things humanity attempted to solve , none of the things you have now could be possible.
45
@Emeritus Bean I hope that next time you travel and look up directions on maps, you would realize that the GPS wouldn't have been possible without a space program. It is gets weary listening to criticisms of a developing nation's technological aspiration. Why should we not strive to develop our own technologies. Why should we allow these moats to widen between the developed and the developing world.
49
@Emeritus Bean, this was a question that was being asked all the time when I was growing up in India which was then a $200 - 250 billion economy with very high levels of extreme poverty. It is still being asked now that it is a $2.8 trillion economy where extreme poverty ( per world bank) has now been cut drastically and 100s of millions pulled out of poverty. This is not an either or proposition. A nation of India's size should be able to advance many priorities at the same time.
Investments in STEM that accompanied the creation and advancement of ISRO have paid rich dividends for India in creating it's human capital and addressing many of its problems. In the process, ISRO has also carved out a place for itself as a leader in low cost space exploration.
28
This was a terrific effort, with every young Indian kid fascinated by a potential moon landing along with their parents. Failures eventually will lead to success with a more determined effort, kudos to the team for coming so close yet not there yet. The whole mission cost a fraction of expected cost and this was no mean achievement as well. Congratulations!
54
just to put in perspective: The cost for this project was half of the of the movie Avengers! That'even a greater achievement than the landing in itself!
8
Science and exploration are intrinsically challenging. It’s actually amazing that they got this far on such a low budget. And the “failure” is an opportunity to learn and get it right the next time.
Even SpaceX recently, much less NASA 50 years ago, had many failures. Imagine what the world would be like if NASA had given up.
11
If it had been Trump in the command center instead of Modi we would all be reviewing the lander trajectory map this morning with an extended black line showing it DID IN FACT LAND.
10
What right has any government on our own self-imposed, garbage strewn, dying planet to trash anything as pristine as outer space?
National pride?
Cosmic littering. Plain and simple.
5
Why was the prime minister hanging around the control center? His party is more interested in promoting cow urine research and religious fundamentalism.
It was another attempt to gain publicity. Nowadays, one sees his image plastered all over in India .. including on the State bank of India ATMs.
3
When NASA was sending its Apollo Mission in 1969, ISRO did not even exist then. Today it is sending world's most cost efficient space missions successfully and world has acknowledged this fact. Indian "NASA'' has not only shown the path for low cost mission with completely indigenous modules but also going after unexplored sites of the space, like Moon's south pole. Chandrayaan-2 may not be a 100% success but it has shown engineering prowess and manifested best of Indian science talent so far. Massive efforts should be applauded rather criticizing the mission as Indian space program has always been focused for Humanity. And people who compare ISRO's capabilities with NASA must know the fact that its annual budget is just $1.5 Billion, whereas US provides NASA's over $21 Billion a year.
Thank you.
13
This was a good economical first attempt at a moon mission by India. They had a successful launch and made the transition from Earth to lunar orbit. The Vikram landing was going well until it neared the moon's surface. They'll need to determine what went wrong there and fix it for future missions. Meanwhile, their orbiter is functional and can be used to carry on with its planned lunar surveying and experiments.
2
I do not support the BJP and given recent events, we can no longer say with pride that India is a democracy.
It is clear that this attempted moon landing was a PR stunt for Modi to deflect from the slowing economy. Whatever the motivation, I too am proud of my country and the ISRO.
I am taken aback at the comments on this story.
Yes-we are a poor nation who can’t (or won’t due to corruption) feed its poor or provide housing, electricity, sewage etc. We are painfully aware of all this. We live it, everyday.
Having no control over that as an ordinary citizen, I am grateful that instead of spending 30 billion on a useless statue (which we did), we spent 150 million on science. Because we all know that that 150 million would never have reached the people who need it most.
One snarky commentator assumed that the poor people on the street, “flies” (as another commentator called us) couldn’t care less about the moon. And that’s where you’re wrong. When your institutions fail you and-the common man on the street has at least this. To be proud of your country’s attempt to make history.
I have no illusions of the state of India. The future of India. But really—to a large degree, America has lost its place to lecture others. When your children are being massacred by gun rampages—in a country where every life has (or had) value—and you won’t do what needs to be done—you are no better than us Third World people.
A bit of humility and a lot of reflection would do us all some good.
46
Judging by the jingoism and chest thumping involved, this mission seemed to be more geared to satisfying the egos of the current political class and to vent nationalistic pride than any real scientific quest. The only goal that seemed to matter was to become "4th nation in the world" to land a rover.. and the ensuing bragging rights involved..
Contrast this with the Apollo 11 mission, which carried a plaque which read "We come in peace for all mankind..."
As remarkable as the feat until the point of failure was, the entire tone of the message was off-putting.
180
@MC Apollo was nothing but a game of one-upmanship with the Soviets during the height of the Cold War. Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman once said “The goal of Apollo was not to go to the moon but to beat the Russians to it”. It doesn’t get more jingoistic than that.
Still the world benefited enormously from that race due to the technological breakthroughs it ushered in and the inspiration it engendered around the world.
Nations should compete in such positive and productive endeavors. There’s nothing wrong in it.
80
@MC There is little other reason to go to the Moon besides national pride.
21
@T. Varadaraj
It will never, ever happen, particularly because of the US. But could you imagine a single, international effort to explore space, exploit resources, and move humanity to the stars. Taking advantage of all of the resources now being duplicated by various nations.
The ESA comes closest to that, and could serve as a base. NASA is totally hobbled with Trump, but hopefully the US will not become a dictatorship, and Trump will pass.
16
Where are the priorities? India cannot provide basic needs of the people. Why was the rush to land at the moon? Millions of people suffer from poverty. $125 million could go a long way to help them, build infrastructure, provide clean air and water. It is a travesty.
6
I am not surprised to see Pakistani trolls gloating about the "failure" of India's attempt. I am however deeply saddened by some of the comments from my own countrymen especially comments of the sort taking a dig at India's poverty vis-à-vis its space ambitions. These are the same ones who are probably not aware ( aka don't want to know) that the most prosperous country in the history of mankind spends almost a trillion dollars on "defense" while millions of its children go hungry to bed.
7
India can't solve its own housing, pollution , and density problems. Did you really believe they could land on the moon? USA did it over 50 years ago, two full generations of man.
5
India didn't lose contact with Chandrayan-2.
The contact was lost with Vikram Lander.
Chandrayan-2's Orbiter is alright and is much more important to its mission.
4
Perhaps Modi needs to scribble something on a picture of the moon with a sharpie and call it the lander.
Many here criticize India for trying to land on the moon when they have hunger, poverty and lack infrastructure. But such eye catching attempts will inspire a new generation of scientists. Knowledge and education are the tools to lift a society out of poverty.
2
As a Kashmiri, I should be feeling proud that India tried to land over the moon. It’s an incredible attempt to explore the nature....but nature spoke loudly and said something else instead.
I am not proud of this attempt and neither for a nation who are feeling sad today because they can’t communicate with a heartless rover while it’s been 33 days today that my friends are unable to communicate with families in Indian Occupied Kashmir because of all communication shutdown by the Indian Occupation Forces.
5
With so much extreme poverty and lack of basic life facilities, the sums of money spent would be best delivered on improving India's infrastructure. Sad to see an expensive waste in space exploration.
7
@RPM
Science has value.
1
Yes, but look at what Modi has accomplished: He has sent his army to turn Kashmir into an occupied territory, closed off from communication with the outside world. He has incited Hindus against their Muslim neighbors. He has used every means to prevent Muslims from voting in "the world's largest democracy." And he has ratcheted up his nationalist rhetoric against Pakistan, which also has nuclear weapons.
Poor Gandhi is turning over in his grave......
11
@Maurice absurt projections really. India needs nationalism, its long overdue. This lack of nationalistic feeling has caused several insurgencies and general population agnosticism towards making the country better rather than flock to west.
8
"India also plans to build future robotic explorers headed for Venus, Mars and the sun." Perhaps they should complete a successful landing on the moon first.
India was clearly over confident about this attempt. A commenter on the official Youtube broadcast was bragging about how difficult this particular attempt was. Perhaps they should have aimed at a more modest goal for the first attempt. They were also bragging about how little money was spent on the project. Seems that they got what they paid for.
21
@Ed Harris Perhaps you are not aware of Mangalyaan. ISRO is known for it's very high success rate and when you have such high success rates, you can be ambitious. Lunar south pole has ice and this mission was to research on that. Please educate yourself about the mission first.
24
@Ed Harris
Difficult to stomach even this level of success eh?
9
@Ed Harris that exactly could have been your reaction when the Challenger exploded.... they got what they paid for?
8
The Moon landing failure is an egg in the face for Modi who put himself in the limelight by appearing on live TV at Mission Control. Next time Modi should let the professionals at ISRO have the spotlight instead of gate-crashing their party
Politicians don't understand the risks and slim odds of space travel and this public failure should serve as a warning to demogogues like Modi who ride on the indisputable success of ISRO and Indians space program.
27
Aptly put..Under what capacity he would understand on the aspects of space travel? Riding on the success without even knowing the intricacies of space or any other common subject. He will and always want to be on the lime light.Such a waste of tax payers money. He would have watched the youtube live instead.
7
@Swami, Failures in these things are not eggs in faces. People like you don't grasp the million successes and accomplishments that lead to these. Modi came to represent the people of country to ISROs team. Indian people stand behind their scientists.
16
It's an egg in the face for Modi who went there to buttress his political chances, not for ISRO (or Indians at large) who will probably succeed in a future attempt. It is shameful how Modi inserts himself into a technological attempt where the entire TV focus should have been only on the scientists and engineers of ISRO. Instead the TV cameras were focussing on a Chai-wallah who didn't even complete high school.
2
In a perfect world India would solve its zillion problems at home before venturing into space but maybe this exposure will lead to greater resources to affect change. But India was unkind to this visitor. It’s one thing to tell a beggar no once or twice, ok, three or four times, no, but when they persist that is bad manners which wears you down. My takeaway from India was that the poor were like flies. I guess I wasn’t a good flyswatter for I have no desire to go back unless Kerala is remote and peaceful.
6
@Hollis
At Beijing International Airport departure lounge in China, a hawker repeatedly shoved his merchandise right in my face, making contact. I waved him aside each time, but he would not take no for an answer. Eventually I lost my cool and pushed him away. He wanted to start a fight. Chinese airport security were standing right there, watching but doing absolutely nothing to stop him. I had to go down to airport basement to report to the Chinese police. Reluctantly, they followed me upstairs, but the hawker ran away.
I say this because outside of Europe and America, badgering and panhandling are a way of life in most of the developing world.
12
India can’t be a successful country until Modi is the PM. Modi govt failed in all aspects, he is trying to take credit of the hard work of scientists.
6
The more impressive feat, evidently one they can’t have, would be to build some trains so people there are not crammed into trains like cattle. How about starting with the basics? What they’re doing is like the poor man who has no food, but has a Rolex watch.
14
@Freak have you run that comment by your congressional rep since we can’t even provide healthcare to our citizens
5
oh I know that! The US Isn’t perfect. But At least the US had the sense to have some roads before trying to get into space!
2
@Freak and India has a national healthcare system and low cost generic drugs. So you know they can do whatever they want to.
3
Frankly, I find it embarrassing to see all these "developing" (really ? Developing what, exactly ?) countries copy every scientific achievement the West, and the U.S. in particular, has accomplished over the past 70 years. Don't they have any ideas of their own ? Just exactly where do they think a manned or unmanned moon program is going to take them ? The U.S. Apollo program is largely responsible for all the computers we have, but that cow has pretty much been milked dry. Sending men and machines into space is so... 1960's. It's passe.
There are many mountains still to be climbed in physics, astrophysics, chemistry, math, engineering, and medicine. Why aren't China and India working to sort out why it is that we apparently cannot detect 70% of the matter in the universe ? Why aren't they working to map gene variations to the proteins they code for, and discovering the nuts-and-bolts molecular reasons why some of those variations cause devastating diseases like ALS, Huntington's, cancer, etc. ? Why aren't they sinking the money and talent they are putting into copying the 1960's U.S. moon landings into developing quantum computers ? Moon landings are ancient history. For that matter, why isn't India vaccinating its millions of feral dogs, which, by all accounts, cause 28,000 human deaths from rabies every year.
Sometimes it seems like the U.S. is the star character in the film "Hud", and I want to scream "Stop feeding off of us !".
17
Really? You think dark matter problem of theoretical Physics needs to be attempted by nations? You don’t understand how scientific research is carried out and it shows.
10
One needs to learn to walk before running. Same as one needs to have a functioning sewage system before landing on the Moon.
8
@True Norwegian huh? we've already landed on the moon. did we really ruin the California sewage systems in the process?
4
Brown skin nationalism. More power to them!
3
Very disappointing for all involved. Especially for those with academic research projects dependent on the mission.
2
All I can think of is the money wasted and all that trash left on the beautiful moon. Disgraceful how wasteful humans are.
Maybe they should spend their space program money on hundreds of millions of destitute people. Naw.
2
I stand with ISRO engineers and scientists. Scientific research involves lot of frustration.
For the jingoistic Indians, this mission should be a lesson. We are not jealous of India. Do not make everything - Indians vs Whites. It is just stupid.
5
ISRO - do not go gentle into that good night. Reboot. Reset. Re-dream. Retry. Mission 2020: Moon soft landing; Mission 2021: Mars soft landing; Mission 2022 - Europa soft landing.
5
By last count, literally 210 million people starving, and they shoot off a rocket to the moon.
1
China 1, India 0.
game over.
1
The survival of humanity crucially depends on any and all explorations to the moon, Mars and beyond. Failures are part and parcel of exploration and should not deter us to learn and move forward. What is good news in all this is a large fraction of one+ billion people seem to be now hooked on space exploration. That is great for India and more importantly to all of humanity.
2
It is sad to see misconceptions of people about India. Firstly Proud of ISRO scientists, they have given their best and we still have the Orbiter is still there for any year sending the signals. Secondly attempting to do something extraordinary is appreciated. It’s not the end its just the beginning .Lastly about Kashmir A software engineer explained it well "What is this article 370 & Kashmir and why is Pakistan so upset? "5 years ago, Facebook acquired instagram.Now, if Mark Zuckerberg announces that both instagram & facebook will be streamlined and will have common login accounts, will Google or Microsoft or any other company be offended?"Of course not!! When the whole world knows that instagram belongs to facebook, then why should anyone bother if they merge both into common account. In fact, it is good for users because they will have a seamless experience. "Exactly!! Same is the case with Kashmir as well. Few decades ago, Kashmir officially acceded to India, which is equivalent to instagram being officially acquired by Facebook. But temporarily, they had to continue using their own Constitution, which is equivalent to instagram using a separate login account.And now, what has happened is that Govt of India has streamlined the accession so that Constitution of India applies to Kashmir as well, which is equivalent to streamlining the facebook-instagram login in order to use common account. There are lot of misinformation spread over this by our liberal newspapers.
4
Sorry, but you cannot compare Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram to India’s behavior toward Kashmir and Pakistan. Millions of human lives are involved, and human well being always suffers in situations like this. It’s inhumane to make such a comparison.
2
Dear India & Israel,
Welcome to the Club and Keep Trying - there’s room for everyone interested in the non-military use of anywhere out there ...
... Especially when the way we’re treating the only planet we’ve got means we may need all the capacity and experience we have to do little things the US isn’t interested in - like placing near-microscopically thin disks, huge in diameter, of metallized plastic over the poles, and strategically, around the equator to prevent the near-total flooding of every bit of land.
Just one suggestion: give up on US/European Space Program-style Solid Rocket Boosters - the things that pushed back the US program 40 years - destroying the entire Space Shuttle program, thanks to former Sen. Bill Proxmire’s demagoguery that slashed what was supposed to be an entire liquid-fuel system.
And don’t use the US/Russia system of fueling big old-fashioned rockets with kerosene.
It’s long past time for the UN to push for a Clean Space Program, where the only fuel allowed is liquid hydrogen, the only oxidizer, liquid oxygen - not only is it the most efficient way to get into space, but water vapor is the only exhaust from the engines (NASA built the STS tank/engine system right, but the crewed lift vehicle was replaced by crude, cheap solid rockets now in vogue to save cash - the exhaust is as clean as burning tires. The current Russian heavy lifter and the 1960s redux the US has on order use kero, and only make matters worse.
4
This was a real challenge for Indian space scientists.
After a successful launch followed by orbits around the moon the tele link got cut off when only 2.1 km above the surface.
The craft has landed no doubt but this minute glitch needs to be understood and rectified.
But most Indians view this as a manifestation of our desire to master the intricacies of science and technologies in space science.
I am sure ISRO will bounce back. After all failures are signposts to success.
2
I have read a number of comments though not all. As such I have decided to clarify. By the way I am no Modi fan. However I appreciate certain steps taken by him and certainly not showmanship.
Indians have come a long way in reducing population. Many rich and middle class people have implemented it. Some Hindus and majority of Muslims are yet to understand it. They will surely realise it sooner than later since India simply can’t afford it.
I tell you my own story here. My maternal grandfather has 10 children. My parents have six children. All of my sisters and myself have two children.
Moghuls and British have looted the richest country on earth followed by corrupt politicians, administrators and others after independence. Inspite of that India has progressed quite a bit in 72 years after Independence though not satisfactorily.
Scientific knowledge in space is very much essential in the progress of a nation such as spreading communication far and wide, helping in the production of agriculture, forecast of floods and also knowing about evil deeds of other countries especially enemies in taking appropriate action.
NASA scientists can clearly vouch what ISRO has done in its journey so far. Others simply don’t understand it except to say blah blah bLah. ISRO has successfully conducted its Mars mission that too at a relatively cheaper cost. Further it has launched more than 100 satellites in single take off including a number of American satellites even.
6
I am aghast at the spiteful and hurtful comments of several people. The developmental challenges that India faces in alleviating poverty, reducing pollution, advancing inclusive growth for its people are important and the country has and continues to make strides. For instance literacy has increased from less than 10% in 1947 to over 75% today despite a four fold increase in population; economic growth has lifted over 800 million people out of poverty than any other country in the world, barring perhaps China. India grows sufficient food for its needs and is the fifth largest economy in the world and today is the fastest growing among the major global economies. The country has an installed power generation capacity of 350 GW - the fourth largest in the world after US, China, and Russia. Besides, readers must recognize that India's space program has major developmental and commercial implications. Its weather satellites have enabled it to predict major cyclones in the Bay of Bengal that in the past caused untold havoc. The 1985 cyclone reportedly caused the death of over 100,000 in the coastal states of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. A similar cyclone last year caused less than 15 deaths. The cost of the Chandrayaan Lunar 2 mission is estimated at $ 150 million, a fraction of what it costs internationally, not to speak of the country's profitable global commercial satellite launch services. My appeal to those who write spiteful comments is to be less judgmental. .
5
Excellent points. The US grows “sufficient” foot for its needs, yet millions go to bed hungry every night. As do millions of Indians. In India, infrastructure for food distribution is part of the problem. In the US, inability to afford the cost of healthy food is a problem.
2
When asked by a reporter Thomas Edison said "The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps" . So it proves a setback is only a failure if you stop trying!
2
@John D Marano Well, yes, a setback may be a failure if you stop trying, but I'm not sure that quote "proves" it.
We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard...
John F Kennedy
I guess that it still true and was said back when we had a President worth quoting.
3
I am no pundit in space research but does losing contact mean disappearance of Chandrayayaan-2 or it means it crashed. If it is in the moon's atmosphere and subjected to Moon's force of gravity it would be expected to crash land. Could it be a sabotage?
2
How absurd, this is a country that cannot feed and house millions of people and waste money like this. Only for egos.
2
Though our country, the US, also cannot properly feed or house or provide health care to millions of people. What’s our excuse? The space program?
6
Well done to India for trying - after the successes of Chandrayaan-1 in 2008, which helped to confirm the presence of water on the moon, and the Mars mission in 2014, ISRO should not be deterred from trying out future missions. India has already become the premier destination for launching low-cost satellites into space.
Missions such as these get millions of Indian children interested in science and technology and help to create thousands of high-paid, technical jobs.
And all is not lost from this mission either, as the Orbiter - with eight scientific payloads for analysing the Moon's surface - is still in place. Perhaps it will give us an indication as to what happened with the lander.
3
Alas! Indian 150 million dollar which they spent to show the world their muscle, should have been spent to feed its hungry population. In India every second person sleeps without a meal every night. It's time that the prime minister Narendra Modi governmenr would wake up and try to be realistic. Modi should have a pragmatic approach towards the long standing dispute of Kashmir. Of course he should fight poverty, racism, fanatism and diseases.
I appreciate all these rah, rahs! for India, but really? Going to the moon? Why? Is there something to be learned that we don't already know about the moon? And is that really the best use of money in a nation with millions of its citizens living in extreme poverty? Sorry, I hate to be a party pooper, and I'm sure it would be a boost for national pride to send a spacecraft to the moon, but I wonder what could have been done for the people of India with the money spent on this. More clean water? Improved infrastructure? More clean energy? Improved healthcare?
1
@Andrew N "Is there something to be learned that we don't already know about the moon? " YES.
Or, as Ferdinand said to Isabella when she proposed financing that Columbus fella's trip across the ocean: "Is there something to be learned that we don't already know about that part of the world?"
Let’s think about how we’ve already totally trashed our planet earth. Now we think it’s totally ok to leave garbage on the moon or floating around in outer space. Pathetic.
It makes think about how Obama secretly gutted NASA’s budget. The media still hasn’t covered the story. He didn’t think space exploration was important.
3
And for a moment there it was going so well. “Hundreds of millions of Indians still live in deep poverty” apart from the fact that this point is entirely irrelevant to the point at hand I find this statement incredibly condescending and sanctimonious. I mean how do you question a country’s right to aspire? How dare you reprimand our ambitions and resent our achievements? Shouldn’t the sound byte be “despite of overwhelming odds, poverty and other disadvantages India has managed to send an indigenously planned mission to the Moon for 1/10th of what it would have cost the so called developed countries”
As Balaji Vishwanathan argues so eloquently here http://balajiviswanathan.quora.com/Indian-Space-Mission-Poverty-and-Closet-Racism
Why is it never “UK is hosting the Olympics despite the inability to control Tottenham riots” or why wasn’t it “America aims for the moon while the Vietnam War rages on and African Americans fight for their Civil Rights.”
A nation needs pride, needs self-belief, needs hope. All of us do. Does India have its share of problems? Of course it does, but now amidst all the corruption, red tape, economic hardships etc. when the world’s largest democracy is preparing to spread it’s wings perhaps it is time to remind ourselves about the positives.
If you still don’t agree with me then just ask yourselves one question- if this were an article about Indian poverty then would you suffix it with a statement about the Indian space program?
9
India should have sent a small payload first. Just to make sure all the ducks were in a row.
Reminds me of the Challenger shuttle crash.
That too was hyped. You could tell Reagan was frustrated with the several launch delays, and pressure was on, big time, for NASA to deliver. So, even as dire warnings were issued, the launch was on.
With a school teacher, Christa McAuliffe aboard, children across the Nation were watching.
Sadly, it was their first introduction to politics. The GOP completely exonerated Reagan as having nothing to do with the decision to launch, but we who were there, know better.
2
@Getreal It wasn't really Reagan's first "failure to launch."
And I certainly don't remember anyone blaming him for the crash either. True, he was in a hurry to make the headlines, but I don't remember anyone fixing the blame with him.
A country that once had 23% of world GDP, reduced to near 0 by the British, despite road blocks and bans imposed by the US and the west, has shown a remarkable resilience and desire to keep marching ahead. This lander crash is a definite setback but a part of the journey. Endeavours at this level inspire a whole nation and the impacts last for a generation. India will march ahead as there is no scarcity of brain power and money for science. India may still be poor in many areas of life judging by the western standards but science will not be held back. Today, with active partnership and respect from other advanced nations, the future of space exploration, advancements and cooperation with the world is only going to speed up. Good luck India. Well done ISRO. Just find out what happened and fix it for the next mission. March on!
10
I was watching the live stream from my office. It was absolutely thrilling to see the lander following not only an acceptable path to the surface, but the EXACT path that had been predicted. I had to assume this was the reason for the bursts of applause in the control room, because I couldn’t understand the language of the announcements. When there was a sudden deviation from the course (before the data stopped coming), I held my breath and couldn’t look away. And was again amazed by India’s engineers: nobody in the control room looked panicked or worried; they all just waited for the data, at 1 in the morning, like any scientist seeing an experiment through. The tension had to be enormous. Yet I was the only one with tears in my eyes and “oh no oh no” coming out of my mouth. A huge congratulations to the engineers and physicists who have gotten this mission 99.9 percent perfect, not just acceptable. It’s an amazing accomplishment and it must be equally amazing to live in a country that understands, respects, and supports good science.
16
@NotMyRealName Amen to that.
1
I'm sorry to hear this. That team of scientists worked long and hard and are obviously very smart, dedicated people. Such a loss is very hard.
That said, I always have a debate about the appropriateness of a country which has such poverty spending $100-150 million on such a project. It is certainly an ego boost for leadership and maybe a morale boost for a much larger segment of the population, but it seems that the money could be better spent in helping with infrastructure, education, and healthcare for the suffering masses. If the country is really to come into the 21st century they will have to bring everyone, not just the upper crust.
@Anne-Marie Hislop When the USA spent hundreds of millions in the 1960s and 1970s, social ills were far worse than they are now, with racism, civil unrest and the Vietnam war rocking the nation. One could argue that it was inappropriate for the USA to go to space when it had so many problems.
Even today, there are plenty of people who think racism is far worse and social disparities are stark, as reminded daily by the news. Some parts of rural Mississippi and Alabama have mortality and poverty rates much worse than developing nations.
Is it appropriate for the USA to talk about the next moon mission, as was done recently?
10
This is rocket science! It is supposed to be hard, challenging and difficult with high risks. Unknown variables in an unexplored cold icy dark side of the moon are plenty. For a first attempt to land on the far side of the Moon near its South pole they did a superb job. Pat yourself in the back, pat others who worked with you...and then get back to the drawing board. That's how rocket science works. Best wishes...
9
This is rocket science! It is supposed to be hard, challenging and difficult with high risks. Unknown variables in an unexplored cold icy dark side of the moon are plenty. For a first attempt on the far side of the Moon near its South pole they did superbly. Pat yourself, pat others and then get back to the drawing board. That's how rocket science works. Best wishes...
2
In-spite-of having poverty, pollution, illiteracy, hunger and other obstacles, India showed the courage to dream big and land on moon. It requires more will power, courage, struggle, motivation for a developing country to do so.
This mission had a big goal for the entire human beings not only for the people of a particular region/country.
It didn't fail completely, it placed a component which is rotating around the moon and taking and sending photos to us.
This mission indicates a very significant thing and that is India is truly advancing towards liberation.
As an Indian, I feel proud of my country.
8
As one who has been in India 4-6 months a year for 29 years, I have a deep love for the country, and an equally deep desire to see toilets in every dwelling, potable water in every pipe and breathable CLEAN air everywhere. To me, these are more important than going to the moon. We have a big mess on earth right now. It behooves every nation to address our earthly woes, and leave the moon and other outerspace locations alone, until our own planet is livable in every way.
11
@susan paul Looking at past record by humans on earth, the only way to make our planet livable in every way is for humans to disappear, which I think will do the planet a whole lot of good and allow other animals and plants to take their natural course and flourish.
Other than that, investment in science is the only way forward. Science is not confined to earth - it includes space.
4
You do realize the same things were said about Apollo, and the world got a bounty worth many times the investment in the space program.
1
@David Gregory Why do you say he realized that?
India failed, live on TV for the whole world to see, to land on the Moon. Except for a tech problem in the last few minutes, this was a complete success. If a society wants out of poverty, dependency and destitution, advancing science and the spirit to sustain it, is necessary. And the way to get there is by talking, debating and thinking together as an open society with lofty goals. It is good to see India understands all this, the way to true independence.
10
@Patrice Ayme
Yes, the operation was a complete success. Too bad the patient died.
India is running out of resources to sustain its very large population and there is undoubtedly good distraction therapy to be had with imbuing citizens who can benefit from the feel good factor of joining other world elites with space programs. Not much benefit to their mass of impoverished people, still no matter, onwards and upwards as the race to exploit the moons resources will inevitably pick up steam.
Go India!
2
It is important to be proud, not arrogant. It is important to focus on advanced research, but not forget or ignore mundane problems. It is important to acknowledge that the US did this 50 years ago when technology was primitive, and made many mistakes on the way...while women's rights and civil rights were behind. Don't kick India with your American or New York arrogance. And India does not have to show off too much either. China did it quietly and successfully. Follow suit. No need for Hollywood or Bollywood attacks and bombast.
14
Congratulations, India! The spirit of innovation and pioneering is something to be proud of, as is the grit of perseverance. Any great achievement is worthy of its effort, and advancing man beyond Earth is worthy indeed. Your effort here is another step for mankind into the universe. Ad astra per aspira.
6
Deeply sad that the efforts of so many good Indian scientists and engineers have met with this disappointment. But not sad that the sociopolitical overtones of fanatical sectarian nationalism (aka Modi and Amit Shah’s Hindutva ) have been deflated (perhaps only temporarily). Silver lining to a great disappointment.
3
Deeply sad that the efforts of so many good Indian scientists and engineers have met with this disappointment. But not sad that the sociopolitical overtones of fanatical sectarian nationalism (aka Modi and Amit Shah’s Hindutva ) have been deflated (perhaps only temporarily). Silver lining to a great disappointment.
8
To the naysayers telling India to focus on fighting poverty rather than flying spacecrafts, in 1968 when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, the USA was at war in Vietnam and in the midst of a huge civil rights movement. It would have been fair to say that the USA should have focused on peace instead of their dangerous, useless undertaking. This is not how the USA works and this is not how India works either.
Kudos India, you will succeed soon and show the world !
13
@Hugues There were people saying that back in 1968, and in fact that is one of the reasons the Apollo program fizzled out in the 70s.
3
@Hugues
In the 1970’s the space program laid off thousands of workers. It changed the Cocoa Beach area overnight,
According to the Washington post India went to the moon in the Bronze Age. Hopefully, the USA will catch up to the Indian Science Congress who declared they could travel to the moon on a plane discovered by a sage. The USA is still fighting the good fight against the Middle East and in the midst of a civil rights crisis if taking into account recent events like Charleston NC. It should ignore its pressing domestic issues if the USA wants to catch up to them. As in all fad things, spacemen, Yoga and Lennon’s magic bus the Indian were smoking it first.
I am amazed at the negative comments written here pointing out to the poverty,lack of toilets in India as the reasons for not pursuing space program in India
Space program has benefits to a poor country by preventing casualties from natural disasters like floods ,hurricanes etc It helps to monitor forest cover,agricultural production ,planning for food security ,estimating crop yields etc It also has spinoff benefits by improving the scientific proficiency in the country
To the people who point out need for spending in space program in poor country, are you ignoring the devastating poverty and rundown in cities In USA?For the commentators with negative comments have you recently walked in downtown San Francisco or walked the skid row in LA?Did not the humanity benefit from USA space program despite the existence of problems in American society?
13
"While the mission may briefly soften the muscular nationalism espoused by Mr. Modi, whose government is already facing challenges from job losses and international criticism of his recent moves in the disputed territory of Kashmir, the prime minister tried to reframe Saturday’s landing attempt as an opportunity for improvement."
The piece reeks of contempt for anything India and may I say brown people?
The space program is older than Modi. And yes, a lot of them are Hindu. Perhaps not Christian or Muslim. And yes, over 75% of Indians voted for Modi. That doiesn't make Hinduism or Hindutva (it means being a Hindu) fanatic or fundamentalist.
For that, you need to look across the border in Pakistan. They have been screaming themselves blue about Kashmir and that Hindus will commit ethnic cleansing there. And yes, they want to attack India with nuclear weapons because it questions the very raison d'etre that a secular India can thrive next door. Nobody seems to question how Pakistan wiped out 3 million people in Bangladesh and our own Kissinger sends warships in their support against democratic forces there.
We can continue to tut-tut them, but their march toward progress seems inexorable. And that is a good thing for the world.
18
.
@Rob,
.
Ugh, "reeking," yes, I hate to imagine it,
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-29502603 Nov 2014
.
“In India, a staggering 70% of people living in villages - or
"some 550 million people - defecate in the open..."
.
“The situation is so bad that open defecation
"is more common in India than in poorer countries such as Bangladesh,
.
“Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Burundi and Rwanda.”
.
“The study found open defecation is very common, even in households with toilets.
.
“Toilet use did not necessarily increase with prosperity:
.
" in Haryana, one of India's richest states, most people in the villages continue to defecate in the open."
.
@Rob
"And yes, over 75% of Indians voted for Modi"- this is factually incorrect. And yes, we have plenty of fanatics.
Worth noting that this mission cost the Indian taxpayer half of what Trump's golf trips to date have cost the American taxpayer!! Kudos to ISRO. And did you see all the women scientists? Truly amazing. Focus on the positive.
Also, India's SUCCESSFUL Mars mission cost $70 million - less than the budget for the movie Gravity.
21
@KrishnanAlso, India's SUCCESSFUL Mars mission cost $70 million - less than the budget for the movie Gravity.
Great perspective in that comment ! Congratulations to Indian scientists for their commendable and ongoing efforts. Also credit due to all those that take risks and support these visionary endeavours, for real.
7
A spectacular achievement for India with a $140M budget for this mission. Compare that to the Fairfax County (VA) Public School 2019 budget of $2.9B.
India is not a country without problems, not different from other countries. Arguing that you explore space only after fixing all your problems is juvenile.
12
@KC"Arguing that you explore space only after fixing all your problems is juvenile."
Or that we fixed all our own problems (unemployment, segregation, cancer) before we tried going to the moon.
But, of course, that's different. We're the good guys.
2
Such bravehearts! so proud of their self reliance, and progress of the mission, its been a journey that is worth it, whether Chandrayaan landed or not. Be proud India!
6
"While the mission may briefly soften the muscular nationalism espoused by Mr. Modi,"
The Indian Space program has nothing to do with the "muscular nationalism " of Prime Minister Modi. Indian Space Research Organization has been in existence since 1962. Indian Space Research was established in the tenure of Nehru, the first PM of India with the urging of scientist Vikaram Sarabhai recognizing the need in space research.
Since then ISRO has several accomplishments. ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet Union in 1975. In 1980, Rohini became the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-made launch vehicle,.
ISRO sent a lunar orbiter, Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and a Mars orbiter, on 5 November 2013, which entered Mars orbit on 24 September 2014, making India the first nation to succeed on its maiden attempt to Mars, and ISRO the fourth space agency in the world as well as the first space agency in Asia to reach Mars orbit.
Indians are naturally proud of their ISRO. Indian Space Program has nothing to do Indian politics or Modi's " muscular nationalism.
8
.
@Padman,
.
Rather nationalism w/o the muscles
.
Sorry this ambitious attempt did not work out.
I think NASA should offer India free technical assistance in the area of soft landings so that things go better the next time.
Ditto for Israel.
5
No. Not needed. They are happy developing their own technology.
I am sure they will land it next time. Congratulations for great attempt.
2
I’m sure many, or even most, of the comments below say the same thing. But, wow, it just shows how incredible it was that the U.S. landed a *manned* spacecraft on the moon; and recovered it and landed the men safely; and did so over *50* ago—a time when the science/engineering behind the operation was practically done by slide rule. Wow
4
This vehicle made an attempt to land on the lunar South Pole, where the sunlight doesn't reach ,, it's that distant ,, how in the world - rather the universe- does that vehicle maintain communication ??
Can someone help answer this ??
Technical answers only please
2
The vehicle would communicate with the orbiter that carried it. While the vehicle seems to be lost, the orbiter is till in air circling moon and sending back data to control room
1
@The Gray American Batteries. Or if they're using old Soviet technology, nuclear power.
2
.
@The Gray American,
.
Deep tech :
battery
.
1
India disgusts me...with all the basic problems this society has, it wastes all these resources on this. Not to mention its nuclear weapon program. A society that has open defecation for over 500 million people (just imagine that) has no business with space games-not to mention the problems with fresh water, air pollution, and the more intractable ones of caste systems and religion.
If I were an Indian I'd cry about the foolishness of the people running the country.
6
At least it doesnt have people running around children with AR-15s.
1
@Marshall If, as some have said, this cost ~$150M, then it is the cost of a few jets !! Perhaps the anger should be at military spending. Everywhere - India, Japan, SoKorea, USA, Israel, Pakistan, etc.
1
@Marshall, you seem to be suggesting that Indian scientists should be digging latrines instead of calculating rocket trajectories. That would be a huge waste. We are all world citizens; maybe, if you aren’t capable of doing those calculations yourself, you could grab a shovel and help.
3
Lots of comments here about how India should be focused on eradicating poverty or how this a some political project. The first is naive at best and mostly just holier than thou. The latter is misinformed, which perhaps NYT helped with (there goes my NYT pick badge)
For a country to succeed it needs to invest in science and become a place where inventions happen. You can just compare the cost and methodology of this mission with the others to see that this was not just a copy cat chest thinking project.
Second, projects like these are inspirational to the young minds, the students, the scientists of tomorrow. It not only inspires their interest in science but also tells them that to do great science, to do good research, they don't have to go to America or Europe. I know plenty Indian researchers working in high places here who would never have thought India was an option to do the kind of top grade work they are doing here.
Third, look up how India is becoming a player in the satellite launch business. Sending satellites up at a much lower price than any other competitors. I bet NASA does not recover anywhere close to a return on investment as ISRO does.
6
A monumental effort for India and they deserve high praise. I doubt that NASA could even figure out how to put a satellite in lunar orbit as India just accomplished with a $125M budget.
5
Keep trying India!! You have to expect some setbacks on the way to shack a difficult accomplishment. You are helping the human race.
7
How is India helping the human race with out of control population draining its resources so badly that cities are RUNNING OUT OF WATER. This is a ridiculous distraction from the problems they should be solving. This is no accomplishment. Being able to provide a healthy infrastructure for your citizens is an accomplishment.
While Tens of millions of college educated Indian youth are unemployed and almost 30 million workers have been laid off in recent years, India's right wing Hindu supremacist leadership continues on the path of chest thumping and jingoism and wasting time, money resources on such misadventures to divert the attention of masses from its abject failure on all fronts. The former Prime Minister Dr Singh, the architect of India's economic revolution last week warned that country is already in recession and Modi's policies are inflicting grave damage on masses. Prominent world economists have already accused India of fudging employment and GDP numbers which have come down in reality to almost 3% from 7-8% during 5 years of Modi regime.
3
@Freesoul Really? Were they supposed to wait till you're satisfied with their politics before they tried getting ahead in science? Had you warned them what's what they were supposed to do? If not, I find it hard to fault them for crossing you.
1
@Freesoul
Here in the US low unemployment is mocked as a disaster of the Trump years.
I sincerely request America to send back all those Indians, citizens included, permanently who have contributed so much for the progress there all these years, right from Microsoft and Google CEOs so that India can also progress. According to the learned American commentators we are still in some 18th Century. Your help will be very much appreciated.
6
@Sivaram Pochiraju
lol they're all Americans now, no point in sending them back.
This is absurd, now people on earth are making the only moon we have a junkyard! For what?
4
@R.Kenney Actually, for whatever else that moon may have to offer. Kinda like the Oklahoma land rush -- remember that one? You might not be in Oklahoma if not for that.
I quote someone famous who has well said that the greatest glory is not in never failing, but to rise each time one fails. To that end I am glad that India has worked hard to improve its scientific prowess in furthering its space program. I am hopeful that the itsy bitsy spider will proudly begins its pursuit once again.
Yes there is a national pride in launching this mission. Yes the nation has many other priorities, but to develop its space program and spending the money cannot be called squandering valuable resources. This is called investing in the future which has the potential to uplift the life of many and contribute to the people not only in India, but across the world.
It will at least end the monopoly of the other countries and showcase that India is broad in its progressive thinking. India can spend money on sanitation, education, population control just like America can spend money on gun control, universal quality medical care for all Americans and let’s not talk of China the record is dismal.
I am surprised that the brilliance of Mr. Gettleman has not tenuously connected the Kashmir and Assam issue to the failure of Chandrayaan. The New York Times must be terribly disappointed at their inability to somehow characterize India in a bad way.
And of course The New York Times ran out of space to give a little intro of the servile Indian Mr. Harish Kumar together with Mr. Gettleman, Mr. Chang and Mr. Schultz. DNA of New York Times unraveled
6
Why can’t we just leave the moon alone? Who cares if humans land on it again? We need to focus on the manifold issues here on planet Earth. These moon gambits are drenched in ego, testosterone, and vanity. Also, greed and money. Ugh.
6
@Lalalalou Right. That's just what so many Spaniards said when Columbus set sail for what is now America. "What's the point?"
1
@kenneth
I think that is an apples-to-oranges comparison. Anyway, the destructive, exploitative legacy of Columbus and other European explorers is viewed by many of us now alive in a much more negative light.
It's a Wonderful Life and Don't You Worry... India Will Lasso the Moon, Soon Enough!
5
At less than half the budget of the $400 million Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue - the tallest in the world - and with all the visible parts built by China, it is clear that Modi's priorities lie in the politics of form rather thatn the practicalities of function.
If only we weren't slipping down the same slope.
3
In the current day, and under current conditions, is this the best use of the scientific money by India?
21
@srwdm
Maybe they could improve their nuclear weapons and delivery systems?
7
@srwdm
Actually, yes. Read the article again.
6
@John Harper You nailed it. Why focus on discovery and invention when they could be seeking better ways to destroy?
1
Good. The spectacle up of hyped-up space missions is being used to distract from the deep economic crisis occurring in India - as well as from brutal oppression in Kashmir, Assam and beyond.
43
@Basant Tyagi
You think this mission was planned 2 months ago?
Do you have Any idea what a space program entails?
12
@Basant Tyagi
missions like these are planned many years ahead, if not decades. So, present day situations have no bearing on its schedule and intentions. And all Indians wish well for their brothers, sisters in Kashmir state and Assam state.
15
Ok then don’t read about this mission. You can keep focussing on “deep economic issues”
2
Given fact a large percentage of the population lacks a proper toilet, and sewers are non-existent in some areas, one would think the Indian government might focus on infrastructure to improve the lives of their citizens. I would think expressing "national pride" though a functioning sanitary system should take precedence.
31
@dairyfarmersdaughter
There's plenty here we could spend money on, but it seems to go to a bloated military. Let's fix our problems before we criticize others.
32
I was waiting for this comment...like our spending $1T on the military every year is a good use of money. Unbelievable
14
The south pole of the moon has never been explored .India's Chandrayan-2 mission opened the new area to be studied in the proximity of about two KM on the surface of the south pole of the moon with many pragmatic alternatives that ensure the contact to the ground station while landing.
3
Spectacular work by ISRO. We are always proud of ISRO engineers. Landing of Vikram lander might not have succeeded but 95% of payload of the mission is in the orbiter which is successfully orbiting the moon. Thus, the Chandrayaan mission is a success not failure. Linking a scientific expedition to "muscular nationalism" and "Kashmir" is perhaps something a reader does not want to see in the news coverage. Belittling human efforts is certainly not human. Lastly again kudos to the ISRO scientists!
5
A good attempt by India. Such failures are part of the learning curve in space exploration, as even advanced countries like US and Soviets have had similar failures on their maiden adventures to the moon. That India hyped the event out of proportion, and led its population to believe success is almost certain, in an inherently risky endeavor like this, points to over confidence.
To keep the expectations in check and not to count the chickens before they hatch in future endeavors, may help to reduce avoidable disappointment. It also helps the general public to grasp the challenges that lie before the country. People responsible to have made the success of the event a foregone conclusion are responsible for the needless disappointment. India has not failed , just that they need to wait a little more and fine tune their next expedition. Also no mission is accomplished till it actually IS accomplished.
10
With computers millions of times more powerful than those of the Apollo mission, navigation systems accurate to the centimeter, and using some of the most up-to-date communications systems, India was unable to land a robot on the moon. Meanwhile, the US regularly and reliably drops robots on Mars, averaging 140 million miles distant, or 500 times farther than the moon.
After years of the popular press denigrating the STEM skills in the US while touting those of other countries, notably India and China, I regret India’s loss, but welcome the comeuppance of the press.
11
Remarkable progress for a Nation that while gaining Independence did not even produce a needle; and in these barely 72 years, through a democratic system and facing myriads of problems and tribulations, Mother India has produced so many of us -enlightened human beings, optimistic about the World ahead, and doing our parts in taking all of us toward a better Tomorrow!
6
Apparently, the only country that succeeded in its first attempt is China.
It is unprecedented. No one else can match that.
China did it, not with superior technology or talent, but
by censoring its failures and announcing only after it met with success.
But I prefer India's democratic willingness to share its failure with the world and try again another day.
19
You can’t censor a failed moon mission. The whole world watches with their own satellites and cameras.
@Bhaskar
I don't think you can hide a rocket failure from public or, let's say, US army.
@Bhaskar
China failed in their Mars orbiter mission but India succeeded in their first attempt. Just getting that close to completing the mission successfully is quite a feat.
2
The US achieved a manned landing with 60s technology using discrete electronics, rudimentary onboard computers, skilled aviators and the newly developing field of rocket science. Makes you realize how fast this country advanced in response to competition from the Soviets. Space is difficult.
8
“We do it not because it is easy, we do it because it is hard”
Before the moon landing, America and Kennedy were ridiculed within and the World over for the cost and the pointless attempt to land on the moon.
But Kennedy made a very valid argument. It united a nation and inspired a generation to go into science.
Many of the present day scientists were inspired by that pointless moon landing and made scientific advances that benefit everyone today.
The jibes about the pointless stunt, or that India should invest in “toilets” and education started literally seconds after it was reported that the landing failed. It was as if the peanut gallery was waiting for this moment.
Well, the scientists at ISRO are all Indian university educated, so India is doing very well in that department.
And many come from poor families that lacked toilets, and yet they became scientists.
It was our good fortune that post independence we got a prime minister like Nehru (much reviled by the right wing), who invested in education science and high quality universities that allowed even the poorest of poor an avenue to get out of poverty.
The Mars orbiter, the moon project
are a direct result of his vision.
The moon landing might have “failed”, but if it inspires a child to go into science, has it really failed?
21
@Prav33r well said! and we know of so many intelligent people with grit....who believed in making India independent. Sardar Vallabhai Patel, and so many like him grew up studying on railway platforms by the street lamp. Can americans kids ever get that inspired in life? I wonder!
1
The current phase of the Indian Space Program is deeply rooted in Modi Hindu Nationalism and in Hindu Nationalism pseudo-science.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/hindu-nationalists-claim-ancient-indians-had-airplanes-stem-cell-technology-and
The pseudo science promulgated by the Nazis, together with the German White Aryan Supremacy endorsed by so many Germans, led to German scientists and technologists putting the first rockets in space.
The pseudo science promulgated by the Soviets, together with the supremacy of Marxist Leninism endorsed by so many Russians, led to Soviet scientists and technologists putting the first spacecraft on the moon.
Man is a political and a tribal animal. Science, technology, politics, nationalism and tribalism are always intertwined.
7
@Colenso the pseudo-science based Hindu nationalism is not a mainstream position. It’s sensationalist media propaganda, exaggerating a view held by a small minority.
@GV
It's clear from your defensive response that you haven't bothered to read the article in the link I provided. I suggest you do:
"Modi has initiated what may be called ‘Project Assault on Scientific Rationality,’" says Gauhar Raza, former chief scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) here, a conglomerate of almost 40 national labs. "A religio-mythical culture is being propagated in the country's scientific institutions aggressively."
“ If India as a nation is to meaningfully interact with international community and to find answers to the human and social problems faced by the country we should not lag behind others in application of space technology”
Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971)
Father of Indian space program
Lunar lander of Chandrayaan 2 was named after him
7
I am super proud of India today - I could not really be bothered about losing contact with a space craft that far out on this small a budget. Of course a touch down and the Tiranga (the Indian flag) on the moon would make my head explode with pride. My special jai ho to the scientists, engineers and other top talent involved in this endeavor, a good number of whom are women.
56
@Kalidan
Maybe outsourcing the program to Pakistan would work better.
6
@Kalidan
I totally agree with you. Indian Scientists have tried there best with the mission which is partially successfull.
4
@Kalidan Hi Kalidan, I really respect India, but maybe it would be great if it wouldn't make the mistake of focusing on "pride for India". Although this is understandable, it is not mature and humans have to overcome nationalism if we want to succeed and continue to exist. Space exploration is not a sport and I can see than India has great intentions of becoming a nation exploring space to do all of the human race good, not only India. I'm not totally sure if that's the intention of the currant Indian government although. But it should be, I think. You have great people in India, be proud of that, but not of inmature and outdated nationalism.
7
India's Space Missions have been synchronous with Humanity's vision for Space. The first incontrovertible evidence for water on Moon came from Chandrayaan-1 Mission that is heavily lauded by the global scientific community. So, it is not all about chest thumping and such; it is real. India's passion for astronomy is civilizational!
7
"While the mission’s partial failure might pose a setback, Mr. Modi’s popularity just seems to grow, despite challenges from job losses and international criticism of his recent moves in the disputed territory of Kashmir."
Was this really necessary? Is NYT capable of writing a single article about India and its 1.3 billion people without alluding to Narendra Modi?
Anyway, NYT coverage of ISRO seems to have come a long way from the days it depicted a cattle farmer knocking on the door of "Elite Space Club". Now, after sending a probe to Mars and 2 to the moon India is already an elite space power and here to stay.
16
This is nothing but patriarchal nationalistic frenzy on India's part, just like the "rocket" programs of all countries. Instead of the leaders of India spending billions in order to whip their followers into a patriotic frenzy, they could better serve their citizens by dealing with the poverty plaguing them. The same holds true even in countries like the US. In fact, this reflects a global problem: nationalism always looking for ways to gloat and preen while the planet itself is in trouble. Look at the Amazon fires, look at the glaciers melting around the world, look at the plastic choking life in the oceans. When will we take care of our own house instead of soiling it?
6
@free range
Think back to when DARPA was inventing the Internet. I'm sure millions of $ was spent. Now reflect on the wealth and jobs resulting from that research.
Same applies here.
3
@Krishnan Wealth and jobs? Do however many thousand tech jobs compare with what is being done by our furiously materialistic culture to the planet? And the planet means all the life forms on it, including humans. We are suffocating ourselves in toxicity. Shooting rockets to the moon for reasons of techno male preening does not compare. It is a symptom of extreme mental imbalance compared to how humans have lived for hundreds of thousands of years. What's left of those very same humans -- hunter gatherers in India and elsewhere -- are being hunted down and exterminated by the same egotistical mad culture that is sending rockets into space.
"The country will likely have to wait for a future mission to join the elite club of nations that have landed on the moon.", said New York Times, a failing news paper from the United States.
6
@KN Excuse me for saying so, but it looks to me like you are pretty fond of the United States, what with you being in Boston and all. And it also looks like you read the "failing" New York Times. It isn't. And it never will.
1
What NYT said is true. India is a failing nation with water wars about to erupt between tamilnadu and Karnataka, Unmitigated disaster of global warming reducing Ganges to a trickle. The country should be finding solutions to global warming that is gonna test India’s very survival.
1
The horrible, horrible poverty in India still shocks. Frittering money away on a moonshot is just shameless regardless of the outcome.
9
@Bill Johnson, according to official stats the poverty rate in Erie, PA is 26.8%, worse than many places in India. (https://datausa.io/profile/geo/erie-pa/)
2
@Bill Johnson maybe your own billionaires and millionaires can start donating to the poor and hungry of americans too. Americans are getting poorer nonetheless. 50 years from now, India will say the same thing about america.
1
Yes true that India has problems. India has shown the rest of the world its caliber in science and technology in less than its 75 years of independence. Let’s advise and pin point how other countries should prioritize their issues after we explain the world how our country runs on Twitter!
63
@AA. 210 million people starving, $125 million could have fed many of them.
3
What do you expect from a country that still drives on the left.
Just kidding.
Good try India.
5
Indian scientists shall overcome the difficulties. The Indian Space Research Organization has a culture of analyzing and learning from setbacks.
2
How about taking care of your starved populace first? Shameful
10
@Simon how about taking care of your own poor and corrupt rich people first?
1
@Simon
Please tell Trump that when he spends his $340+ million on golfing trips!!
2
How about every country do the same? Take care of our poor? Does the richest country on the world do that? Instead of blowing $700 billon on a war machine may be provide for your poor and needy. Like everyone in the western world are living out a comfy life. Stop this nonsense about India not taking care of her poor.
And NYT, can’t you write the article for the efforts of the scientists and their effort and the fact that a significant number of these are women?
Can’t you not see science for science?
2
Good thing India has no problems back on planet Earth. Everyone is fat and happy. No problem here. Hallelujah. Money to burn apparently
10
Maybe they should prioritize indoor plumbing with toilets first -
13
Funny I see all these negative comments from my fellow citizens who lack an understanding of there own history. When America when to the moon there were many poor people in the deep
South with no civil rights, in some cases indoor pluming and living in dire poverty. It also took us a 150
Years to live up to the Declaration of Independence so please have a little humility
What a shame
What a criminal misallocation of national resources. 700 million Indians have to defecate in the open environment - fields, forests, streams, lakes - due to a lack of toilets. They could have bought a lot of toilets with the $2 billion they spend annually on their space program.
13
I am in disbelief at some of these comments in praise of this effort.
India is a country that is soon to experience major crises of various kinds, mostly involving an intractable and possibly irreversible over run of natural resources.
What India needs is $125 million worth of birth control.
13
@Gerry. Agreed. Just watched a news story about a 73 year old woman giving birth to twins in India, pregnancy and c section facilitated by her doctor. The husband is 80. Just what they need, two kids. Good Ganesh people, think!
4
@Gerry sustainable population control comes from urbanization and economic development. As long as people are stuck in subsistence farming, no population control methods will be sustainable.
Economic development and living standards improvement come from increased productivity, which in turn comes from technology.
Making glib comments about poverty and population is a lot easier in comparison.
2
If you are pushing boundaries, you will have setbacks. Try, Fail, Learn, Improve and try again.
Good on India for aspiring and trying. Better to push boundaries on science and technology than to be like the regressive countries that never grow.
6
It's not a failure. They obtained crucial data for the next mission.
6
Good. For intents and purposes the moon belongs to the USA. Other countries should stop trying sully what is rightfully ours.
2
If hundreds of millions of Indians are still living in poverty, why leaders in India still wanted to do this? They wanted to compete with China? They still remember the humiliated defeat of the border war with China in 1962? China is a country controlled by dictators. India is a democratic nation and the leaders should think about the people's livelihood first. Modi should compete with the U.S. not with China. There are millions of India people moved to the U.S. in recent years. Why?
6
@Alex
Walking on two legs just as China did during Mao Zedong days from 1949-1976? Hundreds of millions Chinese people starved to death?
1
@Tysons2019
When will US remove its poverty?
There are things nation do in "parallel"; thats how one develops. You can't say I will do X only when I have absolutely achieved Y. Doesnt work that way.
7
I’m sorry, India. Keep doing your great science, it will happen
7
I'm sure the millions of starving masses living in abject poverty in India are really broken up about this.
5
Like the US's Gemini and Apollo programs, this Indian effort is driven by deep nationalism, in fact by ugly Hindu nationalism. The US was competing against the USSR; India mostly against China--they don't want to be seen as left behind by their "cold war enemy" China.
Of course this is happening against a backdrop of suffocating air pollution in major cities that's probably killing millions, and a Hindu jingoism that brutally suppresses Muslim minority rights. This is Modi making India great again!
6
@JB Biased and incorrect narrative.
India is 80% Hindu, why there shouldn't be Hindu nationalism?? Whats wrong in that? You can have Israel, Pakistan, Arabia, Vaticans, etc, etc, based on religious and sect identity, whats wrong with Hindu country?
India needs nationalism, its long overdue. This lack of nationalistic feeling has caused several insurgencies and general population agnosticism towards making the country better rather than flock to west.
1
Failures are stepping stones to success. Hopefully a future mission will be more successful.
7
If, at first, you don't succeed, try, try again.
2
Not sure about it’s feasibility, but wouldn’t it have made sense to send two orbiters with the spacecraft to reduce the risk of one getting lost?
Congratulations on successfully deploying Chandrayaan-2 payloads.
As for the lander, as soon as ISRO found the mistake(s), ISRO will have successfully found out how not to do it. We all learn by our mistakes.
Per aspera ad astra.
9
With hundreds of millions of people living in grinding poverty and its major cities choking in grime and every kind of pollution imaginable, all India really needs at this time is to land vehicles on the moon. Those who know this situation may wonder how priorities are determined there and whether the people of India would be better served putting their enormous scientific and engineering talents to work at solving the problems that will determine whether the country has a future.
14
@Mark And, I should add, staggering water shortages in major cities that could spell the end of their viability and nothing that anything from the moon could mitigate.
3
Just a comment to clarify that the moon is not ‘literally’ littered with failed space vehicles. That was a figurative use of the word. The moon remains a vast unsullied wasteland and thank goodness for that!
6
So, all of this money and scientific effort is spent to get to the moon (for no other apparent reason to say they’ve done it).
Yet in the real world, India is suffering from incredible poverty for much of its people, incredible pollution in air and water for most of its people and an incredible lack of income opportunities for lower sects.
Wow.
Nothing is getting better for the average citizen, regardless of a failed moon landing.
7
Amazing that the USA was able to do and then some in 1969, with technology primitive by today’s standard, can’t be done by other countries today. Let that sink in world!
14
@bob the technology was primitive by today's standards but it was the best the Germans could come up with at the time.
2
@bob
Just how much money was spent in today’s equivalent prices?
1
Good. This was nothing more than a PR ploy by the BJP to unleash an orgy of nationalistic jingoism to cover up the utter misery of a billion poor Indians. How dare they build rockets when most Indians can't drink safe water or breathe the polluted air. The rocket systems, just like the US and the rest, are military systems to threaten other countries. How about the science of water and sewage treatment, green mass transit, and focusing on clean air? If the government is actually interested in science then get rid of the horrifying caste system.
14
I am wondering if this country has the temerity and the will, right now, that India has shown. Kudos.
2
Wasted money. A large percentage of Indians use fields for bathrooms. Money that could have been spent on bringing their citizens from the 9th century to the 21st.
8
Seen from the moon, planet earth is a beautiful blue orb with land masses and oceans, but no countries or states. Why do humans feel compelled to segregate themselves into tribes and stage competitions between themselves rather than cooperate for the future of their planet?
Highly illogical.
3
With millions of living in extreme poverty, in shacks, without indoor plumbing or paved roads, this is where the Indian government is spending multi, multi millions of dollars?
Unconscionable!
11
I wish them better success. Such a good attempt.
2
The parochial comments from Americans on how India should spend its money just reeks of a colonial mindset. We have enough problems here to address (we have Trump), the last thing we should be doing is lecturing India on what to focus on for their national priorities and ambitions. This is unbelievable, just stop it people.
18
Support for a space program by fellow humans is hardly a Trumpian or colonialist attempt. Come on, man.
4
Respectfully, spend the money to help the people in India. Not trying to land on the moon.
Regarding Trump, well, can you please put him on an Indian moon shot?
Huh? I’m talking about the people that say India should spend money on toilets or whatever....it’s just patronizing and ridiculous for people to make such comments when we have a criminal in the White House and dirt poor, uneducated states like West Virginia and Kentucky.
1
"Oh too bad. The US had nothing to do with this. Good luck finding out what happened."
1
What a waste of money for a country with so much poverty, such great disparity of income and so many other social, cultural and environmental problems. And that’s true for India too.
7
hmm it's gotta hurt their pride knowing that the chinese have done it and they cant... maybe next time.
2
No shame any great athlete knows you win by first taking second place.
1
Still under warranty?
3
I'm not saying it was aliens. But it was aliens.
4
Meanwhile, here on Earth...Modi has invaded Kashmir, air pollution in Indian cities like Mumbai and Delhi is out of control, poor people don't have jobs or food or housing and yet this is what Mr. Modi spends his money on...oh, and millions in of Muslims in the Indian state of Assam are at risk of losing their citizenship. But hey, bread and circuses.
7
@lzolatrov
Invaded Kashmir? Please read more about the history of the region and Indian subcontinent.
1
Couldn't the money be used more wisely?
5
@Walter mccarthy
Sure. Please advise us. 1.3 billion of us are eagerly waiting:-)
Don't feel bad fellas, the US and Russia bungled lots of attempts.
3
I feel like I just lost my best friend upon reading this news.
What? They did land on the moon right? How could you miss?
2
India suffers from abject starvation but they're fooling around with this moon stuff. What's the point?
2
Oh well.
Perhaps if they spent less on their rogue nuclear weapons and their military for an ethnic sectarian supremacist fight with the nuclear rogue regime in Pakistan they might have better focus on their space science and technology.
Indeed, the legacy of the caste system has made income inequality an enduring endemic evil.
While climate change threatens the future of the entire Indian subcontinent.
3
It is unfortunate the political spin authors of this article has given to Chandrayaan 2 mission. Also, can NYT publish an article without mentioning Modi as Hindu nationalist or nationalist leader? He didn't become prime minister through a coup but has been elected by majority of Indian population.
9
India can’t provide clean drinking water for many of its citizens and they’re worried about landing on the moon? Get your priorities straight.
7
You gotta love those herein criticizing India for the attempt because of hygiene and sewage issues at home.
Maybe we could start a hygiene campaign here at home by cleaning up the sewage on the sidewalks of our major cities first?
9
And 200 million hungry people will be nourished by watching the moon landing.
People going without, rampant poverty, civil strife, and they want to go to the moon.
India is as disillusioned as the United States.
Guess their leadership is as useless as ours.
1
The Samosa 1 spacecraft flew the coop!
Robotic explorers to the sun? I'm glad they are robotic.
1
Let's see:
How many billions are poor and starving in India? Oh yes, and isn't Mr. Modi stripping Kashmir and killing and imprisoning folks there? How about taking care of things here on earth first? (Same for US of course.) What an egotistical human waste. I'm glad they failed, and I hope they give it up.
4
Modi has no shame - blasting billions of rupees in the sky and going to waste in a country where millions of people barely survive and are starving
3
It was Narendra Modi who patted K. Sivan on his back. Not an ISRO staffer.
2
In India, how do they say “oops!”?
2
Sorry for apples an oranges - but today's India under Narendra Modi? They do not deserve success... Modi would just use success to bolster his trump like hate agenda, persecuting anybody who his base will hate along with him GLAD they failed. I can only wish failure to India... maybe they will feel some shame. (and the same to you, failed trump... Fail Fail and Fail some more.)
4
Maybe they should worry about indoor plumbing for their billion plus population before they worry about putting a spacecraft on the moon.
4
With millions living in filth and poverty, this space endeavor can only reflect one thing: the perennial one-upsmanship with Pakistan.
6
Shoot for the stars!! and you might have a lift off!!!!
Great job India..
And do not worry about the Brits or the Americans or others chiding you about poverty.. After all,,, the Brits plundered India for 4 centuries
8
@The Gray American
Yes, India has been through a lot. A wounded civilization.
1
True but our child the USA is appearing to be a great successor in violating the world over.
With due respect for the advance in Indian science and technology, I'd be vastly more interested if they could solve the toilet and fresh water issues.
4
'The member of the staff' seen patting K.Sivan's back was the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India.
3
“…Narendra Modi, the country’s nationalist leader,”
When your Prime Minister is known as a “Nationalist,” you have serious problems, it renders farcical the idea you are making progress as a nation.
The landing failed? It couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of nationalists.
2
I was so rooting for this program and hoped for its success. It saddens me that it has apparently failed and I hope India keeps trying and other nations join in.
4
There is nothing to be gained from exploring the moon except for bragging rights. The science has already been done there is nothing more. South pole, north pole in the middle, the moon is a lifeless desert with rocks on it. Sorry - nothing more to see folks.
Mars exploration however, might be a different story. Supposedly in the distant past, Mars had water and significant atmosphere but somehow lost it. Maybe there’s a lesson there.
4
NASA created the halo which the world saw atop the USA. This is a good moment to show admiration for both - NASA for not only their serial innovations but also what was achieved with so little computing power and ISRO for working with tiny budgets as well as setting more difficult goals - trying first landing on the dark side of the moon.
1
It's for no reason it's called rocket science.
Its hard and many times disappointing.
But there is no reason not to try.
I was born in India and went to Caltech for aeronautical engineering. I love space stuff and more countries do it - better for the mankind.
I have been to Sriharikota to witness a rocket launch. May be not Cape Canaveral in terms of a size of a rocket - but still impressive.
Of course, space exploration includes some chest beating - but it has many unintended good consequences.
This may have been a set back - but it should not be the end of India's space program.
If there is one thing in space - nothing succeeds like a failure.
On this optimistic note - one suggestion to India.
Why was it that they did not attempt Vikram landing in India's prime time - it was good for us in our time zone. But Indian tax payers paid for it.
But at 2:00 AM in India - come on, no kids are going to be awake.
Surely, India can attempt this in their own prime time.
4
More testing indeed. They can use all the "science" they learn from this adventure to build better ballistic missiles which will be very useful for intimidating their rivals, or maybe annihilating them. That's the beauty of rocket "science", it has practical uses on our planet too. I'll bet Pakistan isn't unhappy over this setback. Our space program, of course, was pure and never had any military motivations. It just happened to fizzle out after we quit wanting even better missiles.
3
This always bums me out. Set aside the allocation of funds and priorities in any nation. The amount of work that goes into these programs, years of effort, to be lost in an instant is quite heartbreaking for the teams involved. They should be proud of what they accomplished. There is no shame in crashing a lander. The effort should be saluted.
3
I agree with your comment, but the work is not completely lost as the knowledge and insight gained from this failure can be used in future projects.
6
Safe, dependable sewer and water systems would also be a source of pride, while benefiting all.
32
@Shiva
But enough about the street hygiene in LA and SF...
3
Many congratulations to India and ISRO engineers and scientist s for this major milestone towards eventual moon landing effort.
4
I am disappointed with your attempts to tie in India's domestic politics with the moon landing. Fortunately, the space program has seen a remarkable continuity of long horizon programs under multiple regime changes. Yes, the space program has been a matter of national pride, but it has been so no matter who is in government, and all the politic behind it has largely been about who to credit. We have taken both the failures and successes in stride.
Imagine how absurd it would sound if non-American media tried to analyse American Mars and deep space missions from the lens of the 2020 election. Sounds absurd doesn't it. Well so does this.
21
"The moon is littered with the remains of spacecraft that have tried and failed to land in one piece. Two American craft, from the robotic Surveyor series that helped blaze the trail for Apollo, crashed in the 1960s. Several probes from the Soviet Luna program also collided with the moon’s surface."
I thought when reading this: great, homo sapiens is littering the moon (let alone our solar system). No coordination between countries, no sharing of NASA expertise (which is probably lean because of budget concerns), no partnership with private companies, the death of any ideal of an interconnected world. The plundering of any resources we find on the moon, so no benefit for the whole earth.
I wouldn’t politicize this. The science that goes into this is on some level, shared among the scientific communities. Failure proceeds success. These seemingly independent efforts will induce an appetite for greater interconnectedness, as the benefits become obvious eventually.
2
@Karen
In a recently documentary, I heard that President Kennedy was contemplating making overtures to the Soviets about a joint space program.
It would have been controversial, and not easy to implement - but I dream of a world where that could have been.
India will successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. It is just a matter of time. We know that.
But what I did not know was, India still had engineers. I thought they were all here in the US.
Even so, getting within 1.3 miles of moon's surface is a remarkable achievement for whoever is left over there.
7
What is more interesting is that Indian Space program and Defense research is predominantly manned and run by second tier Indian Engineering colleges First tier which includes IITs are exported to USA to Silicon Valley and NASA. It only shows with merit based with high motivation institutions like Indian Space Organization can produce results
3
@Azad
India can only hope that democrats will win in 2020 and throw open our borders to unskilled illegal immigrants and force these highly skilled Indians to go back and make theirs a greater nation.
While we discuss sanitation, hygiene, overpopulation, pollution, disease, and filth right here in this once great country of ours, starting in SFO and LA.
1
Before India spends one more rupee on space programs the country needs to address population control. So many millions of India’s citizen live in abject poverty with no clean water or no medical care. I heard this news in disbelief. I have visited India in 2015 and was shocked at the poverty of the average citizen. If the citizens can’t have enough food, how can you justify a space program?
11
Similarly, how can we accept our military budget? Governing towards progress is slow and rooted in reality. They will evolve.
1
Have you seen West Virginia recently?
During last hurricane season
More than 1million Indian citizens were evacuated with casualties in single digits thanks to the meteorological satellite placed by Indian space program
2
All credit belongs to the man in the arena, the man who tried hard but failed.... For the feeling of defeat is better than the feeling of having never tried.
~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
8
This is how science advances.
The scientists at ISRO are honest, hard working and progressive people who gave up highly paid jobs in the international aerospace industry to do the right thing for a developing nation.
They were trying to explore a part of the moon that has not been accessed.
Lets not read this achievement through the narrow lens of rightwing bias or Hindutava.
10
One learns through failures. It takes multiple tries. Don’t give up hope.
5
Not as easy as it looks, eh?
Imagine doing it 50 yrs ago with the computing power of an iPod shuffle. (with people!)
4
Every failure is an opportunity to learn more. India made a heroic effort, and, as an American, my heart goes out to the Indian people who lost their baby. May this not be discouraging, far from it. May this be a rallying cry for the ISRO to attempt the landing again. You are representing the entire human race, India, and we are all on your side.
Ad astra, brothers and sisters.
8
The alert I received on my phone started "India bids to become 4th Nation to Land on..." and I was hoping it would finish "...the Bahamas", so I clicked. Nice that they have the moon in their sights, but they have a lot of brethren in the East Indies, nearly neighbors with the Bahamas. India could lend a hand (if they're not already).
2
Fantastic effort. Almost there. Certainly the success showcased here was the scientific talent of all the Indians involved. Congratulations! Looking forward to the next one.
Conducting a successful lunar landing is HARD to do.
Israel failed.
India has now failed.
Keep trying though.. because persistence provides key learnings and key learnings lead to success.
1
Hopefully India learned a lesson and will now divert its scare resources to the benefit of its population with a infrastructure program targeting especially general hygienic conditions and toilets.
6
Good efforts by the Indian scientists, sure will be successful in future and will enter in the Elite Club.
Modi Govt tried to take the credit of the efforts of ISRO scientists, the Chandrayaan 2 mission failed because of politics started. If it would successfully landed then Modi Govt would have taken credit.
Don’t mix the technological developments with politics.
2
As any failure leads to soul searching, perhaps success was more likely if the Indian treasure was instead used to alleviate widespread poverty and improve sanitary conditions plaguing India’s burgeoning population.
6
I was disappointed but not surprised. Failure is the stepping stone of success and one day we will get there. To my other fellow indians out there, lets stop justifying or fight the trolls. We need to focus on the next mission. Comparing and defending ISRO is unnecessary, the intelligent community of the world knows what went in and the future path.
3
Failures are common in space missions, particularly in the first attempt. Not long back, India succeeded in its first Mars mission, while China failed. It is better to have tried and lost than not to have tried at all. Failures are the stepping stones to success. ISRO came within one mile of success. As of now we don't know whether it was only a communications failure, or it was a case of failure of not achieving a soft touch down. ISRO will learn from the analysis of the data and pin down the causes of the failure. No need to loose heart, learn the lessons, make corrections and success will come next time. India is an open, democratic country, and success and failures are shared by the nation and the world, in real time through direct telecast. Carry on the woodwork, ISRO.
5
Indians: Stop pay attention to rogue nations or your neighbors. Compare yourself with the great ones, instead. It will only benefit your more.
There are nations who fire rockets to kill people, and there are few nations who fire rockets for the advancement of science and tech, and benefit of humanity. You fall in the latter class, and that's your success - a terrific success I should say.
There are no failures in science, you will succeed in the next attempt. Good luck!
7
Hopefully India learned a lesson and will now divert its scare resources to the benefit of its population with a infrastructure program targeting especially general hygienic conditions and toilets.
5
@Ronaslan
You mean LA and SF?
3
This event seems a distraction from the inexcusable human rights abuses being suffered by Kashmiris TODAY. India- focus more on establishing a just, peaceful, equitable society... that’s the real moonshot, so to speak. 🙏
12
Apparently, the US just made it look easy. Newsflash, it ain’t easy! Good effort India, steal some more technology and next time you may be successful.
4
Half of India's 1.3 billion population do not have access to a toilet. That is 650,000,000 Indian citizens who have to use the gutter, a ditch, or an open field whenever nature calls. That India spends any money at all on a space program before dealing with such basic health and sanitation needs of its people should be considered criminal under any reasonable standard
10
The majority of the population lives in poverty and landing on the moon is the country's priority? How about feeding those on Earth first.
7
How about we feed our people and get them off food stamps before berating other countries? Unreal.....
4
@Charles so letting your kids die in mass shootings, drug overdoses is not a priority in your country?
1
You win or you learn. There will be another one India. You were graceful. Keep going... !!
2
I'm glad that India tried, but not the chauvinist attitude which BJP/Modi supporters displayed under ISRO. Hopefully they adopt a vision for space exploration which transcends nationalism and one religion, like America's space agency.
This one of many reasons why NASA remains the institution I am most proud of, despite all the mistakes and harms our country is making today under Trump's administration. How did they successfully land on the Moon so many times with their technology 50 years ago? Voyager 1 is hurtling through space over 13.5 billion miles away, still dutifully working at 38,000 mph.
NASA...brilliant.
4
Kudos ISRO on a fantastic attempt! A small setback for Chandryaan, but a giant leap forward for India's space ambitions.
All those commenters who are bringing in Modi, Pakistan, Kashmir, etc. into the discussion, please step away from politics for a moment and celebrate this for the scientific and technological advancement this is.
5
Technically, it did (probably) land on the moon.
5
Moon landings are difficult, of course, but why would they choose the South Pole?
An equatorial landing site would've been far easier for a first attempt
Have any of these of these people played Kerbal Space Program?
Oh, sadness for India; so close but fabulous try.
They aren’t alone in space exploration failure. At least they haven’t horrifically lost any astronauts as we did with Apollo 1. It makes sense that a country as tech-obsessed as it would have been looking to explore space since 1969 and I’m sure they’ll make it to the moon one day. But I hope eventually we’ll come together as one planet, pool our resources, and send many missions and, eventually, settlers of every race and culture into space.
And to those here who critique the spending on peaceful space exploration that advances new technologies and inspires millions of school children, look to the caste system and “millionaire and billionaire raj”, not to mention the colossal waste of aggression against Kashmir, for that money. India is among the most unequal countries in the world and, like here, it’s getting worse. In all space-faring nations, space budgets are a very small fraction of overall spending.
When I hear you calling for radical changes to caste systems, ending wars of aggression, and heavily taxing the ultra-wealthy, then maybe I’ll give some credence to your anti-space complaints.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2018-07-26/indias-wealth-inequality-worsened-as-its-economy-expanded-new-book-shows
1
I had more respect for India when it was avoiding the Cold War idiocy and going its own way. Now they just want to do these stunts that make those outside of poverty feel better. India has lost its way just as we have. I wonder if the Mahatma had lived if India would have been a better place and a role model for the rest of the world.
5
They should probably concentrate their efforts in improving the quality of life of hundreds of millions of their citizens before endeavouring into space.
4
'Several probes from the Soviet Luna program also collided with the moon’s surface', crashed is the word i think you were looking for.
4
Is it really landing on the moon when what you're actually doing is leaving little hunks of junk up there? Because that's what you're left with when your little satellites and rovers stop working.
1
Sad indeed but it denies Modi another opportunity for ultra-nationalist gloating. I'd cheer more if he removed his stormtroopers from Kashmir. His actions have raised the risk of a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan.
6
good way to spend money that can help the million of poor people living in India
5
Most of the money ‘spent’ in these projects are to employ people in various capacities and in aerospace manufacturing, so it was probably money well ‘spent’ regardless.
5
Perhaps the next mission will send wall-e up to clean up all the wreckage littering the lunar landscape.
Soon every village and town in India will have robotic rovers hauling away all the plastic waste choking the terrestrial landscape.
2
Millions of Indians live in poverty. Pride, ambition to be one of the "moon club"? ... Equals to food, quality of life? Never. All else is propaganda and nonsense, except for the egotistical elite.
7
While India is trying to land a spacecraft on the moon, its neighbor, Pakistan, is still nurturing and training suicide bombers and terrorists and has focused on the impossible desire of conquering India's Kashmir.
Pakistan should quit this terrorism and concentrate on developing its economy and for the betterment of its people.
4
The moon belongs to the United States.
Visitors are welcome, but if you crash your landing craft, we expect you to arrange to return to the moon as soon as possible and clean up the debris.
India, the moon expects your arrival in the near future
2
Two landers not landing in a row — maybe the UFOs The Times has been reporting on the past couple years don’t want us there? These days, I am assuming anything is possible.
1
It landed on a moon rock and flipped.
One might think that a third world country that kills its girl babies because the society cannot afford them, and in which the side of the road is the customary toilet, might have better ways to spend its scant cash. Big hat, no cattle.
6
The USA’s fake moon landing still stands as the “first”, moon landing, nice.
1
What does India need more, a spaceship on the moon or lowering its rate of poverty?
7
@Mike
It can do both.
1
Sorry to hear that. Well, back to the ol' drawing board. Maybe those aliens conducting mining operations on the moon don't much appreciate visitors.👽
2
I'd have thought that a country that comprises of one fifth of the population of the Earth; that grows in number by the population of Australia annually, and has some of the worst poverty and disease, and the kind of corruption that involves babies being kidnapped and deliberately crippled in order to make more effective beggars, that a space program would be the last thing on the agenda.
5
What I need to know about this landing is how buffoonish it is!! The majority of India lives in soul-shattering impoverishment, the trains are more crowded that cattle cars in the West, the cities are overrun with dirt and waste and some people are still viewed as supposedly born to be less than others in a caste system and even get murdered if they intermarry, and they’re trying to get to the moon!
How about getting just some trains or roads here on good old earth first, before pretending to be anything close to the other countries that have been to the moon! Wake me up when they stop riding packed like sardines on top and in their trains!
7
While it listed failed attempts by the U.S., Russia and Israel, did the article specifically name the 3 countries who successfully achieved lunar landing? U.S. and Russia, I'm sure. But was Israel the third?
@Gregory Reggie
"In January, China landed the first probe ever on the far side of the moon."
I hope this is not an omen for the direction that Modi is taking the country...
3
'This is all about national pride,' says one Indian expert. But since 'national pride' under India's present government also involves torturing, beating, whipping, kidnapping and 'disappearing' thousands of people in Kashmir for the crime of not being Hindus, one's sympathy for India is rather limited.
7
@colombus and all this does not happen in america? Every country has its problems, but it was wants to progress.
the elite of india massaging their egos. Meanwhile, 1,000,000 infants die there every year.
6
The space program (of any nation) nets immeasurable value for future generations not just in terms of space exploration but science, technology, manufacturing -- all benefit and huge leaps are made when mankind embraces a depth of knowledge that appears to be a dubious project. We can't judge what we will learn by the cost and/or difficulty.
1
Another ego project. sound familiar?
7
Didn't India already land on the moon with Chandrayaan-1?
"... struck the south pole in a controlled manner, making India the fourth country to place its flag insignia on the Moon"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-1
This is part of life. These things do happen. There is nothing to be worried and ashamed of. ISRO has done plenty of great jobs including mission to Mars. Great job ISRO. It has attempted, which no country ever did. It was so close, doesn’t matter it’s failed. Better luck next time since failure is stepping stone to success.
Great to see Americans wholeheartedly applauding ISRO. Thanks a million.
1
Rocket science or Space missions are incredibly hard, it takes a number of failures, everyone failed the Russians, NASA, Spacex...in their first attempts, what's important is making an attempt, not doing so is a failure. So ISRO still achieved a milestone and this was still a success!
3
Oh well, India won't be crushing any moon rocks for science in the near future.
So I guess that means that Mr. Modi can go back to crushing Kashmir?
6
From a scientific aspect, this is an incredible achievement for India, despite the setback, and they deserve the appropriate accolades.
From a political aspect, this says absolutely nothing about Mr Modi's governance. Unless he tries to conflate this endeavor with his brutal, asinine, "populist" crackdown, in which case it will speak volumes about his shallow self-serving ambition.
This moment doesn't belong to him. It belongs to the entirety of India's people - all of them! And more specifically, to those that actually made it happen.
Here's to their future success! (Or, with luck, the awakening of the module!)
Ah, the choice India makes: a hoped for international reputation or an opportunity to better improve something of their own world. And naturally, just as we have done, they have chosen prestige rather than benefit and come up the loser. Now they can spend or waste even more resources as the moon become a junk
pile of space exploration trash. Makes me feel better about throwing that beer can out the window.
1
Bravo to the Indian Space team for this attempt, better luck next time....learn from this and move forward!!!
2
I think what the reporter should focus is what technologies developed with a shoe string budget. Most of the inventions made have rather gone to common use. So, who said spending billions where things can be done in lesser amount. Rest amount can again recycled for newer technologies. All major events in space technologies have made disasters. But people learnt from it to succeed. As a scientist someone shouldn't forget to do experiments and experiments are bound to fail. So, the scientist made the mission for science, it's media who says elite club.
Anyone care to comment on the people we saw involved in this endeavor? Young and old, men and women, working together. Kids sitting and watching - first the exhiliration, and then the disappointment, and how the people and the leaders handled this. What an amazing learning experience for everyone! Say all you want about the economic and social problems in India.Which country in the world doesn't have these issues? India's achievements in spite of all these problems is really commendable.
7
As a boomer man who grew up with all things Apollo I can’t tell you how moving and powerful it was to relive all that watching First Man last week. It wasn’t a walk in the park, even in the last moments of approach for Apollo 11.
How many lives have been lost in space ambitions.
Remember that three astronauts - Virgil I "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee lost their lives when a fire swept through the command module, or "CM." On the launchpad (my 6th birthday) on January 27, 1967. There were many other losses associated with the space program.
And the close call of Apollo 13 in 1970 after having oxygen tanks blow up forcing them to abort the landing and the ensuing nail biter events that allowed the astronauts to return safely home.
You’re not alone.
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@Socrates Friend
There are some excellent videos about the space program on PBS now. If you are a Passports member they can be streamed.
Congratulations to India are well deserved. To do a project of this magnitude and complexity cannot be achieved unless all aspects of Technology, project management are developed. This kind of work develops scientists, engineers and managers, and take the overall development of the country to the next levels. Every project there is a probability of things going wrong, and especially in the space program projects, it is significant. (Many of us remember the O ring failure of solid booster rockets during the launch, resulting in catastrophic destruction of Challenger)
It is important to analyze what went wrong and make sure that it does not happen again and move forward.
6
I heard all the podcasts that BBC made recently about Apollo's landing on the moon. They faced extraordinary technical challenges before the successful landing including losing three brave astronauts.
I am disappointed that this mission failed. But I hope it will only encourage them to do them better. I also hope they share their experience with Israel and both countries learn from each other as the both seemed to have faced sudden acceleration in the final moments either due to a thruster failure or something else.
I do think the Prime Minister should stay away. Let the scientists do their thing. Give a "Kennedy type of moon speech" and leave the rest to the engineers and scientists.
4
As I watched the updates on distance to surface vs current speed, I couldn't help thinking - they should have started hard braking a minute sooner.
Yes, it is easy being an arm-chair astronaut - what we plan and what unfolds several hundred thousand miles away has layers of uncertainty built into it.
Hope the scientists learn the errors in calculation from their analyzed data, and succeed on their next attempt. Failure is a part of science, sometimes a costly one. For their next attempt the team knows how high the stakes are and hope it brings out the best in them. Sorry you couldn't complete this mission and best wishes on the next!
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@Rick You are right Rick. I am not an engineer, but I too thought the same. It seems the malfunctioning happened while shifting from the hard to the soft breaking. Can it be a mechanical malfunction in the structure of the lander as it struggled with high g forces which the lander may not have been exposed to while its testing?
Space exploration is largely about national pride. The odds of anyone actually benefiting from lending on the Moon or Mars are vanishingly small, other than perhaps the gathering of scientific data - also of dubious value.
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@Mark Marks
The "dubious value" of gathering of scientific data is why we are conversing on the Internet instead of living in mud huts and spearing wildlife to eat.
Kudos to India for trying to land on the Moon. No small task as it came so close to landing with such a small budget of $125 Million. Best wishes in future missions. Aim high and keep your heads high.
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@kyle
Lets understand that the small budget of $125 million is due to the fact that most expensive component of a moon mission is "R&D" which has already been performed by NASA, while ISRO has reused these concepts & technologies, not re-inventing from scratch, thereby minimizing the R&D cost, while focusing on the build and deploy !
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@kyle
That's right India. Your country is going to run out of ground water within a couple of years, people are going to go hungry and your land is going to become ruined by your agricultural techniques. Your population is going to overrun your natural resources, and global warming is going to overrun your coastline.
What you need, India, is a rocket to the moon. That will solve everything.
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@Sam Swaminathan
And NASA didn't use any previously invented tech by others? Thats the way science works. NASA itself was created by the Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun as a continuation of his work in Nazi Germany. Because he had this tech, he was spared Nuremberg and brought to USA via Operation Paperclip. Please do some reading.
All knowledge and tech is globally cumulative. Did Kepler invent zero or the place value based decimal number system that he used to crunch Tycho Brahe's astronomical observation data to arrive at his Laws of Planetary (or satellite) Motion?
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Just makes you appreciate how hard it actually was for NASA’s venture way back in the 1960’s, as they had to essentially invent the technology every step of the way to land a manned spacecraft onto the moon’s surface. And with minimal computing power no less.
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@Jeffrey absolutely true. What NASA did became benchmark for others.
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@Jeffrey There was plenty of computing power, but it was NASA engineers with slide rules, not so much the electronic variety. Amazing stuff!
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@Jeffrey
True, plus NASA had Herr Wernher von Braun from the Nazi regime do it for them. Back in the 1960's, when black minorities in the USA were legally segregated with no freedom to even drink water or eat at most places.
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Bravo for the attempt. India's brief history in space is already off to a good start with past successes. Best wishes.
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Shame to those who wasted all that money completely wasted on Modi s vanity while millions of Indians die prematurely each year due to famine
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Owning it - skin in the game - putting it on live TV for the world to watch - and then failing but accepting it gracefully with the will and resolve to try again - that is the kind of India that was on display today - I want this to be the India for everything else too - economic improvement, cleanliness, health, hygiene, betterment of its people - I am certainly rooting for India. In its success is the guarantee that the rest of the world will succeed too. Good luck for the next attempt.
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@SR
A brilliant reply... If 1969 was the Chris Columbus moment of space exploration, we earthlings are right on schedule for Magellan and more. If the original Chris Columbus moment was racist, messy, unfair, and corrupt and our moment is equally challenging to comprehend and manage, our time does scribe the ascent of man skyward.
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@SR
Not so "graceful" regarding disputed Kashmir.
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@SR One of the best posts and reflects the sentiments of people watching this from around the world! No matter which country attempts new frontiers, all of humanity rides with them
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A wonderful achievement, literally.
One hopes the scientific brilliance and resources behind India's space program can also contribute to the more pressing global crisis of climate change, which for a massive nation like India can have a disproportionately positive impact.
Scientists have identified India as a key player in fighting Global Warming, that without India's aggressive reduction of carbon emissions -- due to its stage of economic and political development and a growing population that will exceed China -- real progress is unlikely.
The UN has identified India as both "extremely vulnerable and low on resilience". Extreme weather is already taking its toll on food production, poverty alleviation, economic growth. India also faces a threat of inundation from glacier melt off the Himalayas and sea level rise in low-lying areas. The 400 million Indians in extreme poverty will be among the most devastated as conditions deteriorate.
While the media focus has been on the loss of Amazon forest cover from fires, agricultural and resource extraction, the loss of forest cover in India is equally alarming, in part because it hasn't been the focus of national attention.
India has the fastest growing large economy in the world and its population is expected to double in 40 years from the current estimate of 1.37 billion.
Humans have always looked to the heavens as we ponder the future. I hope for India it also inspires action to save earth.
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I hope it's something they can solve - but if not - no doubt they'll learn and make it next time. I'm so relieved - reading the headlines I was thinking there were astronauts inside.
I was looking forward to the data this spacecraft comes up with. I guess I'd have to wait 3 more years till NASA sends probes to this region.
Or the Indians might try again and be successful before that.
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The loss of communication is disappointing, because we wouldn’t know whether the rest of the descent was successful or not. Patience and persistence is important in successful completion of complex missions. India can be proud of how far they have come. There is a need to tame the expectations, because the probability of failure is and will always be there.
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Congrats to India and it’s space program on a valiant attempt. As the United States learned many years ago, the benefits of space exploration on scientific development is immense. And as we also learned decades ago, it often takes more than one shot to get it right. The argument that all countries need to fix all issues of economic inequity before advancing science would have had devastating consequences for the United States and the world, had it been heeded by NASA and our pioneers of space exploration in the early days.
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What would India get from a moon landing besides the accomplishment itself? I'm asking sincerely. I get the concept that a country doesn't have to solve all its social problems before attempting something daring. But India is a very poor country with many people who don't have access to health care, clean water, and education. What are the benefits of a moon landing that balance against spending the money on something to benefit citizens directly?
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@Linda The global satellite industry is worth $120Bn and has mushroomed in recent years. India wants a share of that pie. Innovating in a new industry is but one way to improve the situation of poverty in a country.
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@Linda
As a scientist I’ll say that there are tremendous scientific gains to be made by such a mission regardless of success. You can’t discover the next big thing until you learn how to do the first step on your own.
As for health care, clean water, education: one can say the same for the United States. Missouri and Alabama have a maternal mortality rate rivaling underdeveloped nations. That doesn’t mean we stop pushing forward on other fronts.
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Please as if any Technological improvement has done anything to mitigate poverty in America. The same elites reap all the benefits.
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"The makers of Beresheet and Chandrayaan-2 both noted the low cost of their missions — $100 million to $150 million, which is much cheaper than those typically launched by NASA and the European Space Agency. "
Have any "low cost" lander missions actually worked? If not, perhaps it suggests that the "low cost" option is not really that because the end result of trying to be cheap is a failed mission.
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@Aardvark Avenger
Yes, they did. "India's space program has succeeded at the first attempt where others have failed - by sending an operational mission to Mars at cost of 4.5bn rupees (USD $74 million).
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29341850
India has many, many chronic social and economic issues that should be a priority over space safaris. From affordable housing to proper sewers and trash collection management are a few glaring needs visible to everyone traveling in any of the major cities of the country. Money must be spent, wisely, effectively and properly, not on vanity projects. Though, it’s understood why space exploration is so exciting and it’s also understood that Indian people are talented. It’s just a matter of harnessing that talent in practical ways.
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@Ted The global satellite industry is worth $120Bn and has mushroomed in recent years. India wants a share of that pie. Innovations created as a part of this effort feeds into the country's credibility as a provider of space exploration services. Similar to companies that fail to invest in growth strategies, India will descend into stagnation if it doesn't invest in new areas.
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@Ted It's funny when nonscientists give advise to the top scientists who are trying to do something daring! Reflects how much mediocrity has crept into the American psyche!
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I could say the same for New York and San Francisco, two major cities in the US that that suffer from the same afflictions you’ve mentioned. Talk a walk around the neighborhoods of New York and you sense there’s a distressing need of a proper garbage disposal strategy, lack of affordable housing and staggering inequality. That hasn’t stopped the US from aiming for the moon and beyond.
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"This is all about national pride." Great that they can spend $150m on "national pride" rather than a specific, strategic scientific mission. It has a nifty additional side effect of making an error like this that much more devastating.
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@QTCatch10
Learning what is on the lunar South pole is actually a valid and valuable scientific pursuit.
Congrats to India and ISRO for getting so far. I hope they pick themselves up, and give it another try. Something like a space program, with big goals, seems to bring a people closer together. I’d say... “go for it”.
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While the U.S. has led in science, its current government is eating its seed corn and hobbling its scientific prominence. This is creating a vacuum, and India is wise to push forward to occupy some of that void (lest China take most of it). Today's news is a disappointment for her, but ultimately a valuable step in India's learning curve.
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No dream that is worth the dreaming has ever been achieved by dreaming small.
And few dreams become reality without failure along the way.
This is a hiccup. A costly hiccup, but a hiccup.
I wish ISRO all the very best for their efforts, and huge enrgy fkr their future.
You WILL make it happen. And we will share your joy, the way we feel your pain.
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India will try again. When it comes to the Moon, I say, the more the merrier.
Call me naive, but I believe all are friends on the Moon. That is one deep bond to share.
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@pjc I'm afraid you may well be naive. The reason for the attempted landing on the south lunar pole is to establish a presence and possible claim to the water ice that probably lies hidden in the shadows. As on earth, he who controls the water controls life around it.
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@CapnDad
I disagree. The logistics of what, in the next century, would be required to plant a profitable moonbase is beyond even Elon Musk levels of nonsense.
History moves a lot slower than you think. sorry.
I'm very sorry to hear this, but good for India for trying.
I can't help but think how primitive our technologies were back in the 60's, when we did our moon landings. As a kid I was into electronics, and frequently built tube-based amplifiers and other such equipment. Failure was common.
Now that tech has risen to dizzying heights of functionality and reliability, we still sometimes fail. But it wouldn't be an adventure otherwise.
Hopefully next time!
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@hammond The technology is still primitive. Basically giant fire crackers. These moon missions are worthless nationalistic nonsense.
I am very surprised that 50 years after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon no other nation has even attempted to send a crew of astronauts. The moon landing was done with analog instruments and a navigation system powered by less computing power than you find in a cheap calculator. You would think that with a billion times the computing power in the most powerful supercomputers and all the advanced digital devices that could be deployed on a spacecraft that a moon landing today with people would a cinch. Landing unmanned spacecraft sounds like something any number of commercial space companies could do a routine basis. So what is the hold up?
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@Yankelnevich. It takes more than computing power to keep humans alive in outer space.
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@Yankelnevich, you need a massive rocket to get a payload that can bring enough fuel for the return journey. Something like the Saturn V rockets that the Apollo program used. Right now, no one in the world (including the U.S.) has a rocket powerful enough to get humans to the moon and back.
@Yankelnevich It's because this particular mission had plans to do soft landing at south pole of moon which no country has done so far. The intention for south pole landing was because scientists believe that Moon's south pole has ice and a confirmation on that would have been much beneficial.
1
If the space craze in India with Chandrayan 2 is anything like that which the USA experienced during the Apollo era, this setback will be only that: a temporary setback. India has made huge strides so quickly, and the nation seems to have fiscal and political support for a viable space program, as well as near boundless enthusiasm from the Indian people.
When the pursuit of space travel and launches beyond our planetary bounds becomes "routine" in the minds of those funding and developing space programs -- as it seems might be the case in some more established space programs -- the programs themselves seem to suffer.
The expectation of perfection, and the routinization of the extraordinary, clouds the ability of programs to venture forth in bold new ways. The more established programs also
exhibit a dread fear of innovation as it might result in failure. Failure, though, is one of the greatest teachers.
Congratulations to India and ISRO scientists for Chandrayan 2's many successes. So close! All the best to you on your next efforts.
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Good job India. Success is built on failure and what you learn from this trip to the moon, will help you do better next time.
Congratulations to the team that worked on this.
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They were so close. Condolences to India. It will happen, some day, just not today.
23
Kudos to India for making it so close to the mark. Success nevertheless.
19
India's opportunity to shine. PM Modi overlooking the control room. Young space quiz winners right there. Streaming everything live to share their achievement with the world.
I was really hoping this would be a great moment.
4
Great effort ... but I sure do wish a world leader would make a single sustained effort to do it in concert with as many other countries as they could negotiate into participating ... too bad America doesn't have anyone who could do that.
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@Bob
We did that, it's called the International Space Station, you can see it go over most evenings.
1
Congratulations for trying! Armstrong had a tough time landing too. Don't give up!
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We tried. We failed. That is not an issue. We will try again until we succeed. ISRO has never let India down and we will definitely have more coming from them, including a moon landing, whenever the eventual Chandrayan 3 comes along.
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Pity! It would have been another milestone for humanity and a great triumph for India.
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@Laura What would the milestone be? Yet another pointless landing on the moon?
1
They will learn, as the US, Russia, and China have from their failures, and will eventually succeed. Remember that India put an orbiter around Mars a few years ago, a distance never less than 140 times that to the moon, on their first attempt.
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“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” Congrats India!
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The US and Russia have done this dozens of times and they both laid off all the engineers and scientists responsible long ago. Instead of reinventing the wheel it might be better for all concerned to just hire some engineers that already know how to do this. They can be found making coffee at Starbucks.
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@Bobotheclown
I had to laugh as well as cry at your Starbucks comment; I’m sitting in one right at this moment. However, the baristas at this particular one aren’t engineers or scientists. I just asked one of them: young students mostly at the moment but maybe some day!
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@Bobotheclown
Good one! Slight exaggeration of absurd truths always makes for the best comedy!
@Bobotheclown But remember neither US nor Russia were able to land at south pole of moon. In fact, no country ever achieved that feat.
Semper ad astra!
Godspeed, India!
5
ISRO managed to get into orbit Chandrayaan 2. ISRO will learn from what happened to the Vikram lander.
2
Jugaad in motion. I love it! Go India!!
3
Landing on the moon is one of the hardest projects to execute. And landing on the South face hasn’t even been attempted by others yet - this was supposed to be the first. The fact that the lander got so close to the surface without a glitch was nothing short of AMAZING.
Don’t give up ISRO - keep pushing - you will learn from this experience and have have a successful landing in the near future. Young people in India are now fired up to contribute to science and this alone is such a great development!!
22
If India can get this close then I have full confidence they can successfully land another craft. Keep going !
10
Bravo, India! I like that you are stretching the boundaries and doing the seemingly impossible thing. This is not a failure, just a step in a process. Best wishes to accomplishing your mission soon.
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Watched live today and experienced the same initial joy and pain for all involved. The endeavor and learning is essential now more than ever.
22
I tuned to the launch and watched in awe. India was a leader in astronomy going back thousands of years. I have visited those archeological sites and the Kerala School of Astronomy as well.
So, keep dreaming and actualizing. We, in America, need some of your hope and dreams right now.
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I agree with many here that India is to be congratulated on having it made that far, and so close. They'll succeed next time.
I would also like to encourage India and other nations joining or starting (!) important scientific initiatives in space such as the full surveillance of our solar system for yet undiscovered asteroids, comets and related celestial objects that might come uncomfortably close to hitting our planet. It boggles the mind how little we as a species invest in identifying these objects which have caused many cataclysmic events in Earth's history.
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@Pete in Downtown
Actually, it couldn't happen at a better time.
All human endeavours towards excellence is a success for humanity! Milestones along the way are minor details.
22
I'm proud to be an Indian. But inside, we lost our baby (Chandrayan 2 Rover). My heart is breaking in it and many Indians hearts were crying inside. We never forget this day in our History. We will come again and do a successful mission. My India we never let you down.
Congrats to ISRO Scientist. You taught us more. All the best.
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That is a ridiculous response. It’s a success even in its failure. No one has ever done it at this cost and such logistics.
5
Au contraire, Israel came close at a fraction of what it cost India
1
@Balaji The popular case of the missing ELSE statement in the IF clause. #ProgrammingBug
This is not a failure. It is an experience. Every effort is great learning for a successful outcome which may be a few hours later or a few years later....
80
Still, good for India for trying.
22
Wake up Vikram! 1.3 billion Indians and many of us stateside are rooting for you and your country!
63
I think that they now realize that a successful landing on the moon is quite difficult.
8
@Ed Harris: There is nothing to realize now. They knew it was difficult before even starting. And, hence they planned so well that the land reached just about a kilometer to the target.
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@Tom But yet it failed. A plane landing a kilometer short of the runway cannot be considered a partial success. They bragged about how little they spent on the mission. They got what they paid for. A more modest goal that succeeded would surely be preferable to a glorious failure.
I hope that India is able to achieve this feat. It's very exciting to watch. Best of luck to India.
23
Looks like the lander failed. What a great pity. Very disappointing for everyone.
7
I applaud India for their noble effort.
Each failure is a step on the road to success!
(I was really hoping India would get a success here. I am sorry this failed...)
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Why no mention of China's soft landing and still-active lunar rover? They're the only other country so far to succeed in having an active moon lander.
15
@Theophylact Becasue this is about India, not China.
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This plus the fact that China aced its moon landing in its first attempt.
From the article: “This was the third attempted spacecraft landing on the moon this year. In January, China landed the first probe ever on the far side of the moon. The lander and accompanying rover have been operating since then.”
3
Any attempt to advance science is to be applauded. I see from the other comments posted here that there is a great deal of political and social baggage going on that those of us removed to the other side of this world aren't aware of.
Bully to those who have worked so hard to plan, design, launch and get to within a mile or so of the surface. Experience helps, but one only gets experience through determination and the commitment for the funds to be available even in the face of an unsuccessful attempt.
While New Horizons and Cassini made it seem routine, the fact is anything like this is extraordinarily difficult.
Unless there was a communications problem and the gizmo wakes up and starts phoning home, best wishes for the next lander!
95
Yes, rightly said @reid.
Let’s leave the “political and social baggage” on earth and not take it with us as we journey for the above and beyond! This is a pursuit of science!!!
Kudos to India on this challenging mission.
Kudos to SCIENCE for showing us that we humans truly are capable of achieving what we dream.... even if not exactly how we wanted it this time.
26
There's an interesting juxtaposition to be called out:
As India is about to attempt this scientific feat, our neighbor decided to close offices early on Friday to mark some kind of solidarity with Kashmiris and other political stunts to distract the masses, instead of focusing on economy/ improving productivity.
As I have said before, we are moving on. Hopefully, this landing is successful.
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@MS Why choose to criticize another country? That doesn't seem like "moving on."
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@MS Yes, quite a juxtaposition. We were all wondering about that neighbor of yours.
4
@MS You meant Connecticut or Delaware or Pennsylvania?
1
Landing on the Moon is REALLY hard.
Give them props for making the effort, putting the people together, putting the money together.
If this is a loss, at least no one died, and another lander can be attempted. And they'll do it. All the students and public want it, and they'll come back.
Or if it wakes up, they'll be happier than everything.
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@Jason Kendall
It’s not that hard to crash something into the moon. It is hard to set up a space program that allows engineers to do all the testing necessary to insure success. When programs are rushed spacecraft crash. When space flight becomes a political football it will always be rushed.
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@Bobotheclown
that is correct, Werner Von Brown was a obsessed with testing and re testing, which lead ultimately to success.
6
@ed
A number of American surveyor vehicles also crashed on the moon, as did a number of the initial Saturn five rocket designs.
Success in science is a isolated event, surrounded by many failures( aka learnings) .
29