E D I T O R I A L

Editorial
Peeping into the future
Beyond the moon landing
By H. K. Dua

It was an exciting bit of news that broke at 8:31 p.m. on Friday and in a moment it boosted the morale of the entire nation that has lately been trying to cope with gory headlines.

Pride, more than relief, was the dominant emotion among the young and the old as the scientists reported that the 34-kg gadget with the Tricolour specially embossed on it had landed on the moon’s surface, somewhere around the planet’s South Pole and almost at the spot where they wanted it to fall.

The world, which takes India more seriously than we do ourselves, was not much surprised. But those given to cynicism at home were silent. Even they cannot now belittle the magnitude of the Indian achievement.

When the moon is no longer in the realm of the poet’s imagination, thanks to our dedicated scientists, the moon landing seems to be the first halt of no mean significance, and of substantial practical value.

While the earthly gains from the moon landing might answer the critics that India has too many problems on the ground, including the dal-roti questions, it is heartening to know from the scientists that they are not looking for a slice of the moon just for a little emotional satisfaction. What they are really looking for is a host of minerals that could be of use to India in its fight against poverty.

Of particular importance is Helium, which can be of help in producing energy the 21st century India would badly need.

Not the minerals alone. The moon can also be used as a platform for future probes for the unknown minerals, water, or life in some form or another, or for solving the other mysteries of the vast universe that have been subject of much speculation over the centuries and in most civilizations, dead or alive.

ISRO’s scientists are already working on projects to study the Sun’s corona, which is the astronomers’ word for the rarefied gases that envelope the sun and other stars. This, in turn, could add to much knowledge for the mankind, and beyond about the secrets of heat and light emitted by the sun 24x7 in earthly time-frame, day in and day out.

There could be more mysteries in the void that could surprise even the scientists in India and abroad.

By reaching a milestone in the journey into the space, India has, in effect, joined a select band consisting of the United States, Russia and the European Space Agency. China and Japan are close by.

Whichever power that reaches the moon is bound to make territorial claims and demand the right to extract minerals that could be brought to the mother country. The race between space powers could become ugly, going by the behaviour of early European colonisers in Asia and Africa.

The space powers might take their local jealousies and rivalries over there into space, causing greater international complications down here. This must be avoided.

One way is to make attempts to evolve a consensus among the space powers to establish a cooperative regime that could provide for the sharing of cost and space technology as well as the benefits.

It is certainly a difficult task given the prevailing tensions in the world, but statesmanship would require looking far into the future and avoiding the pitfalls that the earlier rulers did not care to avoid.

It may look idealistic at the moment, but one day it will be realised that cooperation in space will help the whole humanity and working jointly would also help in resolving conflicts that continue to create tensions and wars in the world we live in.

India may at some point of time in the future think of taking initiatives keeping such an aim in view.

Space should be regarded as a common heritage of mankind.