Editor,
Only 54 minutes 24 seconds stood between success and failure of Chandrayaan Mission-2, a project of five long years. Interestingly it was also the historic data 50 years ago of man on the moon, when Neil Armstrong saw the beautiful planet of ours and as told by Martin Armstrong on Sunday last, that his father did spend his old days in pain to see a “fragile” planet being robbed by plunderers. ISRO had had successes and failures too as has the USA and China, the main polluters of 98% debris in space. Had it not been for NDTV, the only reliable channel in India, the failed attempt to shoot micro SAT R on February 12, 2019, would have been hushed up. Equally, the case of Balakot in which the success of the mission was dubious would not have beenb known, though the purpose for the thumping victory has been served.
It is a wakeup call to the Chief Election Commission to tell them that EVM, as any other modern machines are not perfect and to call someone a false claimant with deviant behaviour is unacceptable. I take this opportunity to congratulate NDTV on the Best Journalism Award given by USA media. It should keep doing the good unbiased work for the sake of our country. Journalism with one foot outside and one foot inside prison is true journalism. Chandrayaan Mission-2 is to put man on the moon in 2024. Let us learn from history of space exploration of 1986 Challenger Crew which sadly took seven lives one of whom was a lady teacher of school kids, in which weeping of school children, all over USA was reported. It should also be mentioned that the moon mission crew of 1969 did not have insurance cover. Lest this be like throwing a wet blanket, it is not. It teaches us to be more careful and more vigilant in our future.
The Man on the Moon Mission by 2024 would examine moon water which would be transported to the water starved planet earth where underground water table as on 2019 July is down by 20%. More importantly human possibility of settlement could also be studied which is good news for all of us. On July 15, the NDTV evening news revealed people on NDRF boats with left hand on the steel bar to prevent them from falling and the NRC paper on the right the only ‘gold’ they retrieved from flooded homes, a stark reminder of this planet we live in. If the NRC goes under water it means an end to their lives. But if the moon is habitable, the NRC does not matter as unlike the CAB, the Moon (Interplanetary Law) does not have ideological or political boundaries. And because Man on Moon would weigh 1/6th of Man on Earth, more work could be done on paddy fields to produce more food on moon and there would be no need of nutrela any more!
Yours etc.,
- Khyriem,
Shillong -14.
Chandrayan mission
Editor,
Throwing a spanner into the works of launching of Chandrayaan-2, some technical snag developed in the rocket that made the scientists defer the date of the launch of the Moon mission to a future date. Much to the chagrin of millions of people who had been eagerly waiting for the launch of Chandrayaan, the postponement came as a damp squib.
It is reported that the technical snag was a serious one and it was detected just hours before the launch – a gradual drop in the high-pressure helium bottles was the problem. They were meant to operate the valves of the cryogenic upper stage. However, the problem was observed on the GSLV rocket and not on the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft. Now scientists need to fix the problem and await a new launch window when the optimum path to the moon can be taken.
Disappointment was writ large on the faces of the scientists and so many visitors including President Ram Nath Kovind who had arrived to watch the launch. Needless to say, a large number of viewers outside reached at the odd hour to watch the historic event as well. Anyway, it was good that the scientists were able to detect the technical snag. If it had not been detected, the enormous amount of money and precious labour that went into its creation and its subsequent launch would have been lost and saddened the nation. Thank God, nothing like that happened, and our scientists could detect the snag well in advance and efforts are on to fix it. Now the nation is awaiting a new date for the launch.
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Via email
Charitable act
Editor,
The recent news of Indian Railways ferrying 50,000 litres of water wagons to Chennai residents is very inspiring. The relief provided by Indian Railways “Water Train” to ferry drinking water at the time of acute water crisis is commendable. The Hon’ble Ministry of Railways and Southern Railway should be lauded for such a noteworthy effort to help people quench their thirst.
The Government on the other hand should now extensively involve citizens to put efforts to conserve water. Mere dependability on water train to quench the thirst at short notice should not be the end of the road. Meticulous planning to conserve water including initiating steps to rain water harvesting will help every citizen quench his/her thirst. The efforts now to conserve water at micro level and public awareness programmes regarding the same should increase manifold. Chennai’s acute water crisis is a wake-up call to all the citizens to use water judiciously and help conserve water for a better future.
Government may also involve multiple stakeholders and agencies to bring efficiency and innovation in water conservation. An effort should be made to reach out to international water agencies across the globe to understand and adopt smarter ways to conserve water and help citizens to consume it in a judicious manner. A new water policy primarily aimed at better steps to conserve water may also be looked into in order to avoid such a crisis arising yet again in the summer of 2020.
Yours etc.,
Varun Dambal,
Bengaluru- 72