Congrats MOM, you didn’t disappoint, as always

Today, MOM has made me and the whole of India a proud nation. I am not talking about my mom, she has always made me feel proud, I am talking about the Mars Orbiter Mission. The ISRO brainchild has put Mangalyaan into Mar’s orbit. And rightly put by Prime Minister of India praising the ISRO “made a habit of achieving the impossible”.
So what are we proud of?. Why is the Mars Mission necessary?. Doesn’t it seem unnecessary wasting money on Space missions instead of basic amenities?. What have we achieved ?. What’s the road ahead like?

We are the youngest country in the world and the 1st Asian country to have a successful mission to Mars. We are also the 1st country in the world to have done a successful Mars Mission on first attempt (European Space Agency too did it on their first attempt, but that is a union of 20 countries). We also have the cheapest Mars mission till date at $74 million.
Space exploration in its entirety is important for developmental as well as scientific reasons. It will not only help us understand the space but also help us plan our futures. This mission in particular is to find traces of Methane(CH4) gas. The presence of traces of Methane will make us understand and study better the loss of atmospheric gases from the atmosphere of Mars and also how life can be sustained on Mars.

The Space Missions are as important to a country as the basic amenities of the people of the country. The statement might not make sense to a lot of you, but let me provide you with an explanation. The scientific development & research wings of a country need to be strong for a country to develop in today’s world. Because if you don’t have the technology then, you depend on someone else who charges you more for less that they will give us. More over the amount that we in India spend on space research is only $1 billion, which is .337% of the nations budget. I know that there is still doubt in your mind, but the above is my opinion on this case.
There are various achievements for ISRO and India with this mission:

• A Mars mission at $74 million/₹450 crore for a 400 Million Kilometer trip, ie. approximately ₹11.25/km.
• It was successful in its maiden mission, with around 60% of all Mars Missions in the world known to have failed. This means reliability in the Space Agency.

Road to look forward to: we can look at the missions as a way that now we can earn revenue from space, in terms of being a country which is capable and reliable in its space missions. We may even look forward to manned space missions in the future. Lets hope we are heading in the right directions.
Change begets change begets change.

Check out the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) explained, coming soon.