Earlier in the summer, India’s space scientists were disheartened to discover that their much-heralded moon probe, Chandrayaan-1, had developed a catastrophic malfunction. Following what appeared to be an ill-conceived attempt to hide the extent of the moon probe’s problems from the public, scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), revealed that Chandrayaan-1 had, in fact, been lost. Worse, only weeks later did they acknowledge that the probe’s failure was the result of a miscalculation they had made about the heat the probe would be subjected to when they altered its orbit in order to bring it closer to the moon’s surface. (This wasn’t as bad as that time NASA lost a Mars lander because one set of engineers was working in metric and another in imperial measurements, but it was somewhat embarrassing.)
Now, however, ISRO has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat – and, to mix metaphors badly, put another feather in its cap to boot! First, yesterday the space agency managed to loft not one, not two, not three, but…seven satellites into earth orbit on a single rocket. ISRO had previously set a world record by putting 10 satellites into orbit at one go so this was not so monumental; still it was a nice morale boost for the organization and helps ISRO to further cement its reputation as the world’s leader in low-cost, high-reliability delivery of small payloads. The most significant of the satellites launched yesterday was the Oceansat-2, which is designed to help India better monitor the seas for cyclones and fishing hot spots.**
But the really exciting news yesterday was not the satellite launch. Instead it was the revelation, slyly slipped to the media here by top ISRO officials, that before it had gone dark, the late Chandrayaan-1 – or rather a NASA-designed instrument which the moon probe was carrying – had confirmed the presence of large quantities of water on the moon. And, even more surprising, data from NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper seemed to indicate that water was still being formed on the earth’s surface, according to the ISRO officials quoted in The Times of London and some Indian media outlets. But the officials were tight-lipped about the specifics because they had rather cheekily stolen the thunder from a NASA press conference scheduled for today with Dr. Carle Pieters, a Brown University planetary geologist who oversaw the moon mapping project.
(Dr. Pieters later told reporters that tiny water droplets seem to cling to the dirt all over the moon’s surface, a startling finding confirmed by data from two other space probes in addition to Chandrayaan. Carle said that if you wanted a drink though you would have to process a baseball diamond’s worth of lunar dirt to extract it. Another NASA probe will crash into moon’s south pole in two weeks in the hopes of discovering ice buried under the surface.)
Some say this discovery could lead to colonies on the moon within two decades. In the meantime, it certainly redeems Chandrayaan-1. Still — and this is always the big question with India and its space program (or any country’s space program for that matter): does it have its priorities in the right place? It’s great that India has the know-how to launch seven satellites at once and send a probe to the moon. Indians should be proud of that. But India is also the country with more poor people than any other on the planet: some 300 to 450 million live in desperate poverty, depending on the standard one uses. And if one goes by calorie intake, that number would be even greater. This fall India, a country where water resources are under extreme strain even in the best of times, is facing its worst drought in three decades. So this is the challenge for Indian science: it has managed to find water on the moon. Now can it find any in Uttar Pradesh?
**And while I’m on the subject, I’m not saying space science can’t help solve problems on Earth. There are plenty of examples of the way our lives have been betterd thanks to the space race. In fact, the Oceansat-2 which was launched yesterday is very much focused on helping us here on the ground. It is designed to help India’s farmers and fishermen by providing them with more accurate weather information.
But one of its other purposes I’m a little less sure about: it is supposed to help fishermen is by locating fish far out in the ocean. According to some news reports, the reason Oceansat-2 needs to help do this is that fish stocks close to India’s coast have been severely depleted. But won’t helping Indian fishermen locate more distant fishing grounds only exacerbate the problem of overfishing as fleets rush to descend on these newly discovered shoals? Overfishing is a dire, global problem. Wouldn’t these shoals be better left alone? I’m not an expert on this, but helping fishermen who have already overfished their local waters do the same elsewhere seems perverse.
Jeremy Kahn
Jeremy Kahn is an independent journalist based in New Delhi, India, where he covers everything from politics and foreign affairs to business and the arts. In addition to The Faster Times, his work has recently appeared in Newsweek International, The International Herald Tribune ...
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Kudos!!` says:
India Finds Water on the Moon, Now If It Could Only Find Some in Uttar Pradesh, so that you could throw some on Germ-ie Khan, to wake him up!!
* says:
"slyly slipped to the media here by top ISRO officials"
LIES LIES and MORE LIES.
You are a disgrace to a noble profession.
morgen says:
There's a reason why you are a (pseudo) journalist and not a scientist. It's because you don't understand anything! If you are ignorant, that's ok, but keep your ignorance to yourself!
dove says:
Paid china stooge! China can't handle that India co-operates with other nations instead of being a pathetic bully in every possible way. SO they have these paid white stooges to spread lies. If only they put half this effort into being a decent peaceful country..
ssdeep says:
if u want to find the same quantity of water in UP as they did on the moon,take a glass of water,go to UP and sprinkle it on the mud you fool.
alam says:
man that is one cynical view of looking at things.well my kind friend, i would have thanked you for pointing out some of the major problems affecting india and my home state ,if you had done it with the intention of suggesting some solutions for alleviating the probs of poverty etc...and million other probs in india.but this article seems to be pragraph upon paragraph about india bashing.the first ever prob sent by isro function for 312 days, that is saying something.well all i can say is that poeple will keep cribing abt the money spent by india on any technology that my threaten to improve upon the west. people like you expect india to be a subservient colony with no R&D living on begged crumbs from the western world which they provide like some sort of god to look down upon the asian poor people who are supposed to remain poor and beg tech from the west.well one more info my farther is a farmer in UP and my brothers still farm live below the est 2$ a day poverty line but are quite happy and content with thier lives in the village.They look upon me with pity for living in in delhi and singapore where everything is costly and life is hectic.
Bunny says:
Is Uttar Pradesh on moon? If no then how are these 2 things connected. Or is the author trying to say that unless India finds some water in Uttar Pradesh, it should no make any efforts of finding any on moon. Or probably he feels that Indians are too good to find anything anywhere? Seems to me he suffers from a massive inferiority complex and shows it in his article. I have a suggestion for him, dont give up on your night job mate. Your day job aint good at all.
Rajesh says:
You better get in touch with neuro specialist. BTW how much you got paid for this post.
Veleno says:
Who allowed this nitwit to write such an article undermining such an important discovery by India. Perhaps, it hurts teh guy that some country like saudi Arabia or al qaeeda did not make the discovery.
Go see a psychiatrist and get your head examined.
sidd says:
India set up a shining example of cooperation and collaboration for her Moon launch. It benefited the entire world. Way to go India. Jeremy Kahn is such a moron that he cannot see that macro development of science also helps solve micro problems on earth. Why don't you take science 101?? or may be journalism 101??
DoesItMatter says:
Wow, this is a psy-ops or what? Maybe it is the heart-burn. Jeremy boy try some antacid.
Meanwhile here is how the news broke out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/davidgregory/2009/09/leaking_moon_water_is_all_twit.html
Nik says:
Now that the water is found on the moon, if the US government could manage to keep roofs on the heads of Americans during difficult times would be an achievement. Why go on expensive space missions when you've millions jobless and many more loosing homes in times of self-made recession? Beats me, Jeremy. After all, there is the mortgage crisis to unscramble.
Max says:
Guys, his point of view isn't bashing scientific projects. Instead of joining the ranks of sheep and lambs, his critical tone deserves rethinking by the Indian rulers. If Scientists could really try to find water and food solution of India and other third-world countries, a lot of Mathematical, Physical and Biological problems would anyway be answered. Jeremy seems to be open for those satellite research that could help the people on earth and simultaneously solve many scientific problems - so his stress upon prioritizing demands to be viewed in a right perspective. Water for the billions of people on earth considering the impact of climate change definitely seems to be a much larger priority than the moon mission and the related scientific achievements.
Nikhil says:
Jeremy and Max,
There is no question of misplaced priority. The water or the food scarcity problems in UP - or in India - are dependent on local climate, consumption habits, state policies, access to resources and level of corruption. The mistake of cutting back on a low-cost space program is no different than the mistake of gulping pepto-bismol as a remedy for a throbbing headache.
India's space program, in fact, is part of the solution to India's problems. Unlike NASA, ISRO has limited itself in using space programs for human development. ISRO is a leader in launching missions which help in the research on the ground such as locating water resources, studying water tables, soil conditions, ocean patterns, increase connectivity etc. Check out ISRO's website and you'll know.
lvs says:
History will credit this discovery to NASA. ISRO will remain a footnote. The fact remains that the scientific papers on this subject have come out of NASA and the data came from NASAs M3. What is ISRO doing with the data they collected?
lvs says:
As far as getting priorities right, one has to realize that technology often provides the solution. Putting the money spent on Chandrayaan to dole out rice to the poor is not necessarily a long term solution to hunger. If that were the case then all hunger would have been wiped out from Earth long ago.
Sanjay says:
Jackass Journalism says:
For the readers benefit, Jeremy is actually a visiting reporter in china. The chinese authorities have issued him with a visa to report on the free and democratic conditions that the chinese enjoy, with some 'minor' conditions: u must not say anything about the killings in tibet, the fight for the independence of tibet, the beggars turned away from shanghai, the closing down of hundreds of factories due to recession, loss of millions of jobs cos of export slowdown, the rebellion by muslims in a part of china province; "Jeremy please focus on the gleaming superficial buildings, skyscapers, airports, not on the millions of rural chinese poor, who have been brutalised, their homes seized to make way for this gleamy infrastructure." Jeremy looks puzzled for a moment, but his eyes are taken in by all the superficial shine and and gleam of shanghai. "And of course Jeremy", the chinese authorities continue "u must realize that china is a free and fair country and has more democracy and freedom of press than neighboring india, and as an example of our freedom of press, u r free to report on the shortcomings and poverty and problems of the other giant asian economy, which is as u know a backward, socialistic, disease driven and rotting society with no infrastructure, corrupt society, fake democracy and brown ugly people. Dont look at the fact that they have the biggest muslim population in the world, the only sikh people, the largest hindu congregation, huge christian population besides, buddhist, jews and so much so that this massive country of varied linguistic, religious gathering of people, live harmoniously and elect a new leader by successfully conducting elections every few years. Jeremy dont look at the fact, that this so called ancient indian civilization is a country that is littered with magnificent temples, glorious churches, ancient mosques, massive sikh temples and buddhist heritage sites. Jeremy dont pay attention to the fact that somehow, this 'inferior' country of varied religions, thousand languages, loosely held federation of states is also slowly but surely building up its infrastructure, new airports, metros, motorways etc. Dont look at the fact that india is now the 4th largest economy from a PPP perspective. Dont look at the fact that they have the largest middle class in the world and the largest number of companies after the USA. Focus on their poverty, their backwardness, their creaky roads." But the increasingly gullible Jeremy points out that in a democracy every decision is queried, debated and argued , things take time to implement, and comes up with the rather poor example of NASA in the US which has been debating on how to best use the funds of billions of dollars: on pouring those billions into the space station or building a new shuttle? While NASA is debating other nations are catching up in the space and technological race...such as China and India, he points out. The chinese authorities look shocked. They look sternly at him and order him not to compare india with china! "How dare you? There is simply no comparison. (Even though it looks like in the near future india and not america or japan is the real competitor) And, America? Its a bygone power of yesteryears!", the chinese look smug with this comment. "We chinese are able to merge the benefits of democracy with efficient communist governance. Look Jeremy its simple. For instance, when we wanted to erect an 8 lane motor way in shanghai we razed to the ground a 100 houses, trampled on the objections of the residents and completed the project in a matter of 18 months. Look on the other hand at india, if they want to widen the road in downtown mumbai, there are a thousand civil rights organisations who would fight for the rights of the residents, the vigilant press creates obstacles, and it takes 3 years of tedious negotiations before the project is completed! They are Jeremy a backward jealous society in awe of the great chinese civilization!" Jeremy looks to object, but the chinese continue..."We Jeremy, are a very tolerant and fair democratic society with a fair and open press. However these are our rules for press reporters and for those who publish articles that contravene these 'minor' rules, they could have their permits suspended, their visas cancelled, prosecuted, jailed and in some extreme cases they have been known to have disappeared of the face of this earth..." Jeremy nearly chokes and hastily gulps down his cup of pale green tea. Then smiles awkwardly (stuffs his mouth with more cockroach fried noodles), nods vigorously and jabs in the air with his chop sticks and says "u wait and see what stories i come up with, on those ignorant, illiterate, proud indians!" And his gracious pygmy hosts smile in satisfaction and offer him more of the noodles....
Kannan says:
I am sick of "below $1 a day" thingy..So the suggestion is things should go in a "sequential manner" rather than concurrently. SO why dont US and other nuclear powers abandon nuclear weapons at one go! Using farce treaty like SALT and all..just fooling nations that are not nuclear powers...while possessing largest number of nukes and precedent for actual use on civilians..Rock on..Hypocracy sh't has indeed hit the fan..