50 years later

Chandrayaan-2 is a shining example of Apollo 11's legacy

Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Mission landed two men on the moon. That was the culmination of the first era of space exploration, and it was also the beginning of a new era. One of those astronauts, Neil Armstrong, remarked as he stepped off the Eagle Lander on to the moon, “It was one small step for a man and a giant leap for mankind.”. The first satellite to successfully orbit the Earth, the Soviet Sputnik, was launched in 1957. That sparked a race between the Cold War rivals, as they competed to demonstrate space-going capabilities. Soon, both the US and the USSR put men and women in space, and sent unmanned probes to the moon. America embarked on an ambitious programme to send men to the moon. It took only 12 years to go from an 83-kg Sputnik to gigantic rockets that could carry multi-person crews across half a million km.

The legacy of that mission is immense and its impact spanned science, culture, and politics. The next phase of space exploration took research in many different directions. More nations also got into the act. The Shuttle missions, space stations orbiting the Earth with crews rotating in and out, armies of satellites with different capabilities, telescopes that probed the Universe, and unmanned missions to explore Mars, Venus, comets and deep space are just some of the achievements. 

India has also been taking giants strides. A decade after its first mission — Chandrayaan 1 — discovered water on moon’s surface, India is set to launch Chandrayaan-2 at 2.51 am on July 15. It will be the first of its kind as it will shed light on a completely unexplored section of the moon — its South Polar region. The Lander, Vikram, will land near South Pole of the moon on September 6. The region is expected to have a rich, but as yet unexplored source of water. The mission would also analyse the moon soil for minerals and Hellium 3, a potential energy source for the future. Now, America's NASA aims to put men on Mars (so does Elon Musk); and China is exploring the dark side of the moon.
 

Man’s exploration of space has not only helped to satisfy the collective curiosity of the species; it has transformed the daily lives of the people. It has inspired countless young people to devote their lives to scientific research. The technologies that cope with alien, harsh and hostile environments have been deployed to improve our mundane lives.

The “Blue Sky” research, which has improved our understanding of Mars, Venus, and Luna has also buttressed the understanding of climate change. Many of the foundations of 21st century existence are built directly on applications from space programmes. The entire system of communication (and entertainment) is based on satellite systems. So are the navigational systems, pollution-monitoring systems, and our weather forecasts. Remote-sensing technology and satellite-based mapping have not only enabled exploration; they have been used to design roads, map traffic, and help farmers make decisions on what to plant, and also for municipalities to gauge population densities and raise taxes. 

Keeping people alive and sane in space is a difficult task. Astronauts endure the impact of high gravitational forces under acceleration, and then live for months in weightless conditions. They cope with extreme radiation and are cooped up in extremely confined spaces. The medical data collected from those brave individuals has transformed health care. The recycling systems have been scaled up to help with water purification and recycling. The ubiquitous solar panels and heating systems are descended from space units. A major thrust for the development of autonomous vehicles and AI came from space.

Space research could be the salvation in mitigating climate change. As a last resort, the establishment of space colonies could preserve our species in the event of a catastrophic meteor strike. Space exploration had paid for itself many times over in the past five decades. There's no telling where it could take us in the next 50 years.