Why sanctions didn’t work against India

Congratulations India on reaching Mars. And much thanks to the Western countries that imposed sanctions on India after its first successful nuclear test over 4 decades ago and later after additional nuclear tests. Thank you US, EU and Australia for imposing sanctions on ISRO and arm twisting the Russians not to supply technology, which the West termed as duel purpose. Because of all these sanctions India has developed its own technology for its nuclear program peaceful and otherwise, ICBMs, space craft, and in January 2014 it successfully delivered its first domestically-designed cryogenic rocket, joining only a handful of countries that possess the leading technology.

India is the only country to have succeeded in its first attempt to Mars!

Fast tracked by ISRO, Mangalyaan was made in just 15 months at a cost of Rs. 450 crore – the cheapest inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken. Mr Modi again noted today that it was cheaper than a Hollywood movie.

 

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As of 10:30 p.m. EDT (0800 Indian Standard Time) 24th Sep. 2014, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) became the fourth space agency to successfully place a satellite in Mars’ orbit. The Mars Orbiter Mission probe launched on November 5, 2013 and has traveled 484 million miles (780 million km) to reach this milestone.

The probe and wider mission, while containing scientific elements, are mostly designed as a proof of concept (like navigation and deep space communication) and interplanetary debut for the Indian space agency. Of particular importance is that many of the mission’s components are homegrown.

The successful insertion of the probe into Mars orbit comes two years after then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the mission in the summer of 2012.

With a spacecraft around Mars, India today joined a small group of nations – the United States, Russia and Europe – who have succeeded in their Mars missions.

NASA’s mission Curiosity was the first to tweet with a greeting, “Namaste, @MarsOrbiter! Congratulations to @ISRO and India’s first interplanetary mission upon achieving Mars orbit.”

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ISRO’s earnings from launch of foreign satellites, sale of satellite components to foreign countries etc. approx US$ 10 billion and growing. It has also manufactured and launched many satellites for (Indian) defence, education, weather, communications etc.

But this is not surprising for most  Indians because it was this country that gave the world a numeral system without which no mathematics would exist today. And more importantly the ZERO:)

 

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