Tag Archives: Chandrayaan 2
Enfeebling the Indian space programme
There’s no denying that there currently prevails a public culture in India that equates criticism, even well-reasoned, with pooh-poohing. It’s especially pronounced in certain geographies where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoys majority support as well as vis-à-vis institutions that … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Axiom Space, Axiom-4, Bharatiya Janata Party, Board of Control for Cricket in India, Chandrayaan 2, Covaxin, Department of Space, Election Commission of India, Falcon 9, HUNOR, Indian Space Research Organisation, K Sivan, NASA, political capture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, S Somanath, Shubhanshu Shukla, SpaceX, V Narayanan, VG Somani, Vikram lander
Comments Off on Enfeebling the Indian space programme
The shadows of Chandrayaan 2
When in September 2019 the surface component of the Chandrayaan 2 mission failed, with the ‘Vikram’ lander crashing on the moon’s surface instead of gently touching down, there was a sense in all public spaces and conversations that the nation … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Arun Mohan Sukumar, Chandrayaan 2, Chandrayaan 3, Indian Space Research Organisation, Jahnavi Phalkey, K Sivan, Narendra Modi, National Physical Laboratory, S Somanath, solar cooker, Vikram lander
Comments Off on The shadows of Chandrayaan 2
A request to ISRO about Chandrayaan 3
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said its launch window for the Chandrayaan 3 mission is July 12-19. For now, the mission is expected to lift off on July 14 (at 2.35 pm IST). Chandrayaan 3’s mission is the … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged Artemis Accords, Chandrayaan 2, Chandrayaan 3, Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, K Sivan, Pragyan rover, S Somanath, Vikram lander
Comments Off on A request to ISRO about Chandrayaan 3
The ideologues cometh for the IITs
In July 2019, when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its Chandrayaan 2 mission, the spiritual guru Jaggi Vasudev was present in the control centre, along with other dignitaries, getting a close view of the launch from a balcony. … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Chandrayaan 2, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, Jaggi Vasudev, M Jagadesh Kumar, Meera Nanda, Skyroot Aerospace, University Grants Commission, Vedic calendar
Comments Off on The ideologues cometh for the IITs
ISRO’s national interest bullshit
For data and other objects, like images and videos, it places in the public domain, the Indian government attaches the GODL license – short for ‘government open data license’. The terms of this license are fairly straightforward: that … all … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged Chandrayaan 2, Chandrayaan 3, Government Open Data License, Indian Space Research Organisation, K Sivan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Comments Off on ISRO’s national interest bullshit
Being on the NSI podcast
Narayan Prasad, the CEO of SatSearch, hosts a popular podcast called NewSpace India. Every episode, he hosts one person and they talk about something related to the Indian and international space programmes. I was the guest for the episode published … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm
Tagged Chandrayaan 2, Indian Space Research Organisation, Jonathan McDowell, NewSpace India, podcast, SatSearch, space journalism, TS Kelso, two-line element set
Comments Off on Being on the NSI podcast
A new map of Titan
It’s been a long time since I’ve obsessed over Titan, primarily because after the Cassini mission ended, the pace of updates about Titan died down, and because other moons of the Solar System (Europa, Io, Enceladus, Ganymede and our own) … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm, Science
Tagged Cassini mission, Chandrayaan 2, Chandrayaan 3, complex hydrocarbons, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, geomorphology, global map, habitability, hydrocarbons, Io, NASA Dragonfly, Saturn, sharp-edged depressions, synthetic aperture radar, Titan, topography
Comments Off on A new map of Titan
The virtues and vices of reestablishing contact with Vikram
There was a PTI report yesterday that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is still trying to reestablish contact with the Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan 2 mission. The lander had crashed onto the lunar surface on September 7 instead … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Scicomm
Tagged Chandrayaan 1, Chandrayaan 2, Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, K Sivan, Pragyan rover, Shillong, transparency, Vikram lander
Comments Off on The virtues and vices of reestablishing contact with Vikram
The mission that was 110% successful
Caution: Satire. On October 2, Kailash S., the chairman of the Indian Wonderful Research Organisation (IWRO), announced that the Moonyaan mission had become a 110% success. At an impromptu press conference organised inside the offices of India Day Before Yesterday, he … Continue reading
Posted in Culture
Tagged Chandrayaan 2, Gaganyaan, human spaceflight mission, Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, K Sivan, Mangalyaan, Mars Orbiter Mission, Pragyan rover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vikram lander
Comments Off on The mission that was 110% successful
The alleged politicisation of science
“Don’t politicise X” has become the defence of choice for a class of scientists and public intellectuals in India whose class and caste privilege utterly blinds them to various inequities in the practice of science – as privilege is wont … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged caste-based discrimination, Chandrayaan 2, gender-based discrimination, ISRO, misogyny, nationalism, Paul Feyerabend, politicisation, politics, privilege, pseudoscience, rationalism, realpolitik, religion, scientism, Tim Hunt
Comments Off on The alleged politicisation of science