Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Steady but slow: On the VIPER mission, lessons for India

​Steady but slow: On the VIPER mission, lessons for India

India’s space programme needs more resources to realise its full potential (संभावना, क्षमता)

In July, NASA cancelled its Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission to the moon after the development (विकास, प्रगति) was beset (to have too many problems/troubles; trouble, bother, afflict, worry, anguish, harass, embarrass (persistently)) by delays and costs had ballooned (तेजी से बढ़ना, फैलना). By this time its engineers had fully assembled it and completed some tests, but NASA held its ground. The sudden decision dismayed (निराश करना) scientists. VIPER was designed to map (survey, depict, portray) the distribution of water-ice in the moon’s south pole region and the soils in which it occurred, over three months. In all, the golf-cart-sized rover (a space exploration vehicle designed to move and explore the surface of a planet or moon. A rover is mobile, and has wheels with which it can move) was to be launched by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket (one of the world’s most powerful operational rockets, Falcon Heavy can lift nearly 64 metric tons (141,000 lbs) to orbit. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX) and deployed (तैनात करना) using Astrobotic’s (the Moon company (a private U.S. company, and funded by NASA) specializes in making space missions feasible and more affordable for science, exploration, and commerce. And they think the Moon is a great place to start. As a lunar logistics company, they provide end-to-end delivery services for payloads to the Moon) ‘Griffin’ lander, all managed through NASA’s Commercial Lunar (चंद्रमा से संबंधित) Payload Services programme. Landing on the moon is an expensive, time-consuming (समय लेने वाला, श्रमसाध्य) exercise. NASA’s decision to cancel VIPER at this late stage thus drew the attention of the U.S. House Committee (The House’s committees consider bills and issues and oversee agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions) on Science, Space, and Technology and of the wider international community, which sees in VIPER’s absence an opportunity for China’s increasingly (more and more, steadily more, continuously more, gradually more) complex lunar programme to lead the way. The world’s rush (जल्दी, हड़बड़ी) back to the moon offers potentially (संभावित रूप से) significant commercial and geopolitical (भू-राजनीतिक) gains. VIPER was expected to be a pivotal (महत्वपूर्ण, केंद्रीय) component of the US-led ‘lunar axis (alliance, coalition, bloc, union)’ defined by the Artemis Accords (NASA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State, established the Artemis Accords in 2020 together with seven other founding member nations. The purpose of these Accords is to establish a common vision via a practical set of principles, guidelines, and best practices to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space with the intention of advancing the Artemis Program), which counts India among its leaders. Yet, India missed a trick when, on September 18, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) (भारतीय अंतरिक्ष अनुसंधान संगठन) to begin the second phase of the country’s lunar programme with Chandrayaan-4 (Chandrayaan-4, slated for launch in 2027, will be a critical stepping stone in India’s lunar exploration program. It includes bringing back moon rocks and soil to earth after a soft landing on the lunar surface, launching a spacecraft from the moon, demonstrating a space docking experiment in lunar orbit and getting the samples back to earth), a sample-return mission.

Moments after the Chandrayaan-3 (Chandrayaan-3 is the third lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1 (launched on October 22, 2008) & Chandrayaan-2 (launched on 22 July 2019). Chandrayaan-3 is to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. It consists of Lander and Rover configuration. It was launched by LVM3 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota on July 14, 2023. The Chandrayaan-3 has reached the lunar orbit almost a month after its launch, and its lander, Vikram, and rover, Pragyaan, were landed on the Moon on August 23. Notably, the landing site of the latest mission is more or less the same as the Chandrayaan-2: near the south pole of the moon at 70 degrees latitude) lander descended (उतरना) on the moon’s surface on August 23, 2023, reports erupted (appear, emerge, break out, ensue) to claim (दावा करना) India had yet again admitted itself into a small, elite group of countries that have achieved an autonomous (independent, self-determining) lunar soft-landing (a landing by a spacecraft on the moon or a planet without any damage/destruction incurred to the vehicle). But such proclamations (a formal public statement, announcement, declaration, pronouncement) overlook (fail to notice, ignore, dismiss, reject, neglect, disregard, pay no heed/attention to, take no notice of) the considerable gaps between these countries’ space agencies from an operations perspective (point of view, viewpoint, approach). One pertinent (relevant, appropriate, applicable, germane, suitable) difference is that ISRO is unable to execute multiple flagship (the biggest, the best, the most important (event/programme)) missions in parallel (happening at the same time and having some relation). Instead, it follows a ‘one major mission at a time’ cadence (the flow or rhythm of events; rhythm, tempo, pulse) that, in exchange for (in return for) maximising resource use efficiency, leaves the organisation incapable (unable to do something) of manoeuvring (manage, arrange, organize, plan) rapidly to respond to new opportunities. Had it been able, ISRO could have sought the Cabinet’s approval for the ‘Lunar Polar Explorer’ mission it is planning with its Japanese counterpart (someone or something that has the same job or purpose as another; equivalent, equal, fellow), to land a rover on the moon to perform many of the crucial tasks VIPER was expected to, especially prospecting (explore, search, examine, check out, inspect, survey) for large water-ice deposits. Even now, the VIPER incident should remind the Centre that despite an expanding allocation (allotment, granting, grant, distribution, doling out, budgeting, earmarking, setting aside (especially of money, that is given to a particular person or used for a particular purpose)) and new funding modes in the offing (likely to happen, on the way, coming soon, coming up, close at hand, imminent, on the horizon, in the wings, just around the corner, upcoming, forthcoming), the Indian space programme needs more resources to realise its full potential.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.potential (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संभावना, क्षमता
English Meaning - capability, capacity, ability, power, prospects.

2.development (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विकास, प्रगति
English Meaning - progress, progression, advancement, improvement, growth.

3.balloon (verb)

Hindi Meaning - तेजी से बढ़ना, फैलना
English Meaning - increase rapidly; rise, surge, soar, shoot up, escalate.

4.dismay (verb)

Hindi Meaning - निराश करना
English Meaning - shock, shake up, surprise, sadden, dishearten, dispirit, disturb, upset, trouble, bother.

5.deploy (verb)

Hindi Meaning - तैनात करना
English Meaning - employ/bring into effective action; bring into service; have recourse to; use, utilize, employ, make use of, take advantage of.

6.moon-landing (noun)

Hindi Meaning - चंद्रमा पर उतरना
English Meaning - lunar landing; it is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon.

7.time-consuming (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - समय लेने वाला, श्रमसाध्य
English Meaning - tedious, laborious, tiresome, prolonged, protracted, long-drawn-out.

8.lunar (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - चंद्रमा से संबंधित
English Meaning - referring to the Moon.

9.rush (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जल्दी, हड़बड़ी
English Meaning - hustle and bustle, urgency.

10.potentially (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - संभावित रूप से
English Meaning - likely, possibly, probably.

11.geopolitical (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - भू-राजनीतिक
English Meaning - relating to (the study of) the geographical factors (a country’s position on the earth, size, climate, and natural resources &, etc.) in world politics and inter-state relations.

12.pivotal (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - महत्वपूर्ण, केंद्रीय
English Meaning - central, vital, significant/important, crucial/critical.

13.Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - भारतीय अंतरिक्ष अनुसंधान संगठन
English Meaning - Indian Space Research Organisation, formed in 1969, superseded the erstwhile Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR). Vikram Sarabhai, having identified the role and importance of space technology in a Nation’s development, provided ISRO with the necessary direction to function as an agent of development. ISRO then embarked on its mission to provide the Nation space-based services and to develop the technologies to achieve the same independently.

14.descend (verb)

Hindi Meaning - उतरना
English Meaning - move downwards, go down, come down, alight.

15.claim (verb)

Hindi Meaning - दावा करना
English Meaning - assert, declare, affirm, state.

16.mission (noun)

English Meaning - an expedition (journey) into space.

17.Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) (noun)

English Meaning - NASA’s Artemis lunar rover, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is the car-sized (robot) rover designed to map the distribution of water-ice in the moon’s south pole region and the soils in which it occurred, over three months.

18.beset (noun)

English Meaning - to have too many problems/troubles; trouble, bother, afflict, worry, anguish, harass, embarrass (persistently).

19.hold/stand one’s ground (phrase)

English Meaning - stand firm, be firm, be resolute, be determined, show determination.

20.map (verb)

English Meaning - survey, depict, portray.

21.in all (verb)

English Meaning - in total, altogether.

22.golf-cart (noun)

English Meaning - a small, battery-powered, three- or four-wheel vehicle used for transporting one or two golfers and their equipment around a golf course.

23.rover (Pragyan) (noun)

English Meaning - a space exploration vehicle designed to move and explore the surface of a planet or moon. A rover is mobile, and has wheels with which it can move.

24.SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket (noun)

English Meaning - one of the world’s most powerful operational rockets, Falcon Heavy can lift nearly 64 metric tons (141,000 lbs) to orbit. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX.

25.Astrobotic (noun)

English Meaning - the Moon company (a private U.S. company, and funded by NASA) specializes in making space missions feasible and more affordable for science, exploration, and commerce. And they think the Moon is a great place to start. As a lunar logistics company, they provide end-to-end delivery services for payloads to the Moon.

26.‘Griffin’ lander (noun)

English Meaning - Griffin is a medium-class lander with flexible mounting options to accommodate a variety of rovers and other large payloads. Its autonomous sensor systems provide a safe and precise landing in even rugged and hazardous terrain, enabling it to support robotic missions such as resource prospecting, polar volatile characterization, and skylight exploration.

27.lander (Vikram) (noun)

English Meaning - a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of a planet/moon. A lander is immobile, and maintains its fixed position once it has landed.

28.Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) (noun)

English Meaning - NASA is working with several American companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. These companies of varying sizes will bid on delivering payloads for NASA, including payload integration and operations, launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon.

29.draw attention to (phrase)

English Meaning - emphasize, highlight, accentuate, underline, underscore, give emphasis to, lay stress on, call attention to, focus on, zero in on

30.the U.S. House Committee (noun)

English Meaning - The House’s committees consider bills and issues and oversee agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions.

31.the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (noun)

English Meaning - It oversees agency budgets totaling over $42 billion and its jurisdiction covers most non-defense and non-human-health Federal research and development.

32.increasingly (adverb)

English Meaning - more and more, steadily more, continuously more, gradually more.

33.axis (noun)

English Meaning - alliance, coalition, bloc, union.

34.Artemis Accords (noun)

English Meaning - NASA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State, established the Artemis Accords in 2020 together with seven other founding member nations. The purpose of these Accords is to establish a common vision via a practical set of principles, guidelines, and best practices to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space with the intention of advancing the Artemis Program.

35.Chandrayaan-4 (noun)

English Meaning - Chandrayaan-4, slated for launch in 2027, will be a critical stepping stone in India’s lunar exploration program. It includes bringing back moon rocks and soil to earth after a soft landing on the lunar surface, launching a spacecraft from the moon, demonstrating a space docking experiment in lunar orbit and getting the samples back to earth.

36.Chandrayaan-3 (noun)

English Meaning - Chandrayaan-3 is the third lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1 (launched on October 22, 2008) & Chandrayaan-2 (launched on 22 July 2019). Chandrayaan-3 is to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. It consists of Lander and Rover configuration. It was launched by LVM3 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota on July 14, 2023. The Chandrayaan-3 has reached the lunar orbit almost a month after its launch, and its lander, Vikram, and rover, Pragyaan, were landed on the Moon on August 23. Notably, the landing site of the latest mission is more or less the same as the Chandrayaan-2: near the south pole of the moon at 70 degrees latitude.

37.Chandrayaan 2 (noun)

English Meaning - Chandrayaan-2 was the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1. It consisted of a lunar orbiter, and also included the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover, all of which were developed in India. The spacecraft was launched on 22 July 2019. However, the lander crashed when it deviated from its intended trajectory while attempting to land on 6 September 2019. ISRO re-attempted a landing in 2023 with Chandrayaan-3.

38.Chandrayaan 1 (noun)

English Meaning - Chandrayaan-1 was the first Indian lunar probe under the Chandrayaan program. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008. The mission was a major boost to India’s space program, as India researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the Moon.

39.erupt (verb)

English Meaning - appear, emerge, break out, ensue.

40.elite (noun)

English Meaning - high society people; the group of most powerful people in a society; best.

41.autonomous (adjective)

English Meaning - independent, self-determining.

42.soft-landing (noun)

English Meaning - a landing by a spacecraft on the moon or a planet without any damage/destruction incurred to the vehicle.

43.proclamation (noun)

English Meaning - a formal public statement, announcement, declaration, pronouncement.

44.overlook (verb)

English Meaning - fail to notice, ignore, dismiss, reject, neglect, disregard, pay no heed/attention to, take no notice of.

45.considerable (adjective)

English Meaning - sizeable, substantial, appreciable, significant, noticeable.

46.perspective (noun)

English Meaning - point of view, viewpoint, approach.

47.pertinent (adjective)

English Meaning - relevant, appropriate, applicable, germane, suitable.

48.flagship (noun as modifier)

English Meaning - the biggest, the best, the most important (event/programme).

49.in parallel (phrase)

English Meaning - happening at the same time and having some relation.

50.cadence (noun)

English Meaning - the flow or rhythm of events; rhythm, tempo, pulse.

51.in exchange for (phrase)

English Meaning - in return for.

52.incapable (adjective)

English Meaning - unable to do something.

53.manoeuvre (verb)

English Meaning - manage, arrange, organize, plan.

54.sought past and past participle of seek (verb)

English Meaning - ask for, request, appeal for, solicit.

55.Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission (noun)

English Meaning - The Indo-Japanese Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission is envisaged to explore the permanently shadowed regions or the dark side of the moon. The main objective of the mission is to confirm the presence of water in the polar regions of the moon.

56.Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) (noun)

English Meaning - The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was designated as a core performance agency to support the Japanese government’s overall aerospace development and utilization.

57.counterpart (noun)

English Meaning - someone or something that has the same job or purpose as another; equivalent, equal, fellow.

58.prospect (verb)

English Meaning - explore, search, examine, check out, inspect, survey.

59.allocation (verb)

English Meaning - allotment, granting, grant, distribution, doling out, budgeting, earmarking, setting aside (especially of money, that is given to a particular person or used for a particular purpose).

60.in the offing (phrase)

English Meaning - likely to happen, on the way, coming soon, coming up, close at hand, imminent, on the horizon, in the wings, just around the corner, upcoming, forthcoming.