The article Calling ISRO’s Fluff : Only Higher Achievements Should Merit Widespread Celebration by Pavan Srinath was published in The Wire on 17/02/2017. I would like to argue the exact opposite. We need to celebrate every ISRO success as widely as possible.
The launch was celebrated not just by Indian media but well known international news-outlets as well. The New York Times stated that the launch established India as a “key player in a growing commercial market for space-based surveillance and communication.” Equally praising were other major newspapers including The Washington Post, The Guardian, BBC and CNN. Surely, these reports do not count as chest-thumping?
The article suggests setting a high bar for ISRO. Seriously? We have already been to the Moon and Mars. The future plans include a second mission to Mars and a mission to Venus, something the article conveniently neglects to mention. How higher can the bar be than this? Instead, how about raising bar of other Indian research institutes as high as ISRO?
ISRO is a government organisation. Part of its program has to be oriented towards the development of India. It would be a mistake to plan ISRO launches on the footsteps of SpaceX. Elon Musk has his own grand vision, some of which may overlap with ISRO. The “routine” ISRO launches so far have given us immense technological advantages in areas ranging from Earth observation and disaster management to climate and environment. In addition, ISRO is not averse to taking risks. The Mars mission did not have any practical application other than basic science research. So does the trip to Venus. Keep in mind that China failed in its Mars mission, even though it has become kind of routine for us.
Writing proposals to funding agencies is both an art and science. If you really want to find out the reasons for the current state of science in the post-independent India, dig up all the science projects that have been completed and audit their achivements severely. Quite often, you will find that the aim of the project covers a wide area with goals broad enough that can be justified no matter how things go. For instance, instead of claiming that we will make an apple superconducting at room temperature, most proposals would claim something like “Feasibility studies of room temperature superconductivity in apples.” This way, even if the apple does not become superconducting, the goal of testing feasibility is met.
By the very nature of its work, ISRO cannot do this. Its successes and failures are digital in nature. It either lands a rocket on Mars or it fails. And there is no way to hide the failure or give it a positive spin. Simply because they have done it many times before does not ensure the success of any launch. NASA was a pro in shuttle launching when the Challenger disaster struck. There is no fluff in any of ISRO launches. Each one is as complicated as the last one.
NASA dominated the social media last year. They have a team of social-media experts who handle around 500 accounts across multiple platforms. The user is bombarded with great videos and information about all of their activities. Even the manned Moon landing is routine for NASA now. So why are they doing this? They do it because they know the value of communicating science.
Back home, I am dismayed when even senior Indian scientists ask why they should waste their time in science communication. According to IndiaSpend, out of India’s 1.2 billion population, 22% or 264 million are internet users. Add to this the fact that Indian has the largest population of 356 million 10-24 year olds and you quickly come to the conclusion that the young Indians are using the internet more than ever and the number is only going to grow. Imagine an 8 year old kid who has just opened her Facebook or Twitter account. She has not seen previous 50 ISRO launches. The live telecast of the 51st launch will be her first. Can you imagine how excited she would be? We have to make science exciting for people. This includes celebrating not just every ISRO launch, but successes from other research organizations as well.
