Author: Subhadra Menon
Translator(s)/ Editors(s): Subhadra Menon/ Pallava Bagla
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 194
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9788172236762
Description
Fabled in songs and poetry, and romanticized by lovers down the ages, the earth's closest neighbour is still an enigma in material terms. Can it sustain life? Does it have water? How did it come into existence? And what is its exact relationship with the earth?
Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden moon craft, will seek to unravel these and other mysteries in the most ambitious exploratory mission to the moon in decades. Conceptualised by Indian scientists, it is in some ways a global scientific endeavour, with European and American instruments hitching a ride on a lunar satellite and rocket designed and launched by the Indian Space Research Organization.
When the mission was first proposed in 1999, it seemed wildly optimistic to most people. Could a developing nation with limited resources afford to invest so much money, time and effort on research into outer space? Yet, almost a decade later, India's science community has proven beyond doubt that it is capable of meeting the most exacting challenges.
This book is a celebration of that achievement. It tells the story of the moon mission from conception to launch – the genesis, the plan, the people, the science. Based on reportage, interviews and most important of all, a deep understanding of the processes involved, Destination Moon is a lucidly written and comprehensive guide to India's engagement with outer space – past, present and future.
COMMENTS
'Twenty years from now when space travel is likely to become mundane like airlines travel today, we don't want to be buying travel tickets on other people's space vehicles.'
DR G. MADHAVAN NAIR, CHAIRMAN, ISRO
'It is not a question of whether we can afford to go to the moon. It's whether we can afford to ignore it.'
Dr. K. Kasturirangan Former Chairman,ISRO
Contents
Foreword
SPACE ODYSSEY: Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan
Foreword
ISRO’s BIG LEAP: Dr. G. Madhavan Nair
Preface
MOONSTRUCK: Pallava Bagla
Introduction
Reaching for the Unknown: The Moon’s Origins and the Search for Water
The Moon in the Indian Ethos
The World’s Many Missions: From the Present into the Past
Beyond the Stratosphere: India’s Space Programme
Chandrayaan: India’s Shot at the Moon
The Future is Here
Epilogue
Annexures
Missions Galore: Interview with Dr G. Madhavan Nair
To the Moon, Together: Interview with Dr Michael Griffin
The Moon is Serious Business: Interview with Dr Wu Ji
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index Acknowledgements