Indian footprint on Lunar surface

The 'Indian' blinked his eyes at the moon despite the fatigue of the journey. The guest who had travelled 384,000 km from India was appropriately welcomed by the moon. A full moon of pride spread in the minds of the 140 crore people of India after seeing the meeting that took place on the soil of the moon. The moment Vikram lander gently touched down on the lunar soil at 6:04 Indian time defying all odds, India was conquering the world as the first country to land on the South Pole of the Moon. Moments where India's egoless pride was above Everest. After emerging from the lander, the rover moved across the moon with the agility of a mischievous child. Two weeks on Earth equals one day on the Moon. That means the life of the rover will only be fourteen days and nights on Earth or one lunar day.

ISRO Chairman S Somnath also has a touch of the moon in his name now. India's legendary success in the field of space was written in golden letters when the Chandrayaan 3 mission was successfully completed under his leadership. Only the US, Soviet Union and China have landed on the moon so far.

Although the achievement of science belongs to science alone, it is the ones in power who get its practical results. Even today, people recognise the first nuclear test in India as an achievement of Indira Gandhi. Similarly, it will become a part of history that India touched the moon during Modi's prime ministership. All proud Indians should avoid political arguments on this occasion or else it will follow the future of our nation like a crator on the moon.

Chandrayaan 1 costs 386 crores, Chandrayaan 2 costs 978 crores and Chandrayaan 3 costs 615 crores. There may be those who ask what is the benefit of sending a machine to the moon at such a high cost. Three countries namely America, China and Russia control the world now and have been trying to impose their supremacy. All three of them had conquered the moon. The fact that India has cost-effectively achieved this feat without any technical assistance from anyone after them, will give hope to many other countries after us. The question of why so much money is being spent on space research was raised during Nehru's time. India has only just begun to reap its economic benefits. Today, India is at the forefront of commercial satellite launches. With the success of Chandrayaan 3, the world will recognize India as invincible in the field of space. With this, India becomes a member of the club where the space business is worth crores. The success of Chandrayaan 3 is India's entry ticket into the Moon economy, where business transactions are worth billions of dollars. This advantage will also attract more private investors in space technology. Huge opportunities will open up for private start-ups as well.

With the success of Chandrayaan, there will be changes in Kerala too. Space Park in Kerala will grow into a huge potential. Experts have assessed that Kerala, where ISRO was born, is an ideal region for space startups.

Space is now an important factor in the diplomacy that engages and controls nations. India has been using this diplomacy effectively by providing satellite services to our neighbouring countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan and stepping forward to launch their satellites. This Chandrayaan success will change India's status as a poor country with rocket speed. In 2014, when India launched Mangalyaan to Mars and succeeded in its first attempt, the New York Times found space to mock it by drawing a cartoon of an Indian farmer with a cow standing at the door of an elite space club. It was similar to how the landlords used to make fun of tenants in Kerala in the olden days. Where did all those landlords go today? Who knows that those who mock India now will not be standing in front of India tomorrow with a begging bowl? The success of Chandrayaan 3 can be considered a turning point for India's rise to that status. In this context, we should also gratefully remember the great scientist Vikram Sarabhai, who made the Indian Space Programme a reality.