ISRO - the Indian Space Research Organisation - is one of the world's leading space agencies, founded in 1969 to develop India's own space program. With a huge fleet of remote sensing (IRS) and communication (INSAT) satellites, ISRO provides services across the country - broadcasting, weather forecasting, disaster management, geographic information systems, navigation, cartography (maps), telemedicine, distance education satellites and more.
 |
Indian Space Research Organisation logo |
| Name : | Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) |
| Formed : | 15 August,1963 |
| Headquarters : | Bengaluru, India |
| Type : | Indian Space Agency |
| Inaugural holder: | Vikram Sarabhai |
| Jurisdiction : | Government of India |
| Website : | isro.gov.in |
ISRO’s Achievements :
There was a time when the United States and Soviet Union were the unrivaled frontrunners in the space exploration race. For Indians, thinking of creating space technology was almost unimaginable. But that changed when the visionary Dr. Vikram Sarabhai formed the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962. Led by Dr. Sarabhai, INCOSPAR established the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in Thiruvananthapuram for upper atmospheric research. Interesting fact, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who later became the President of India, was among the initial team of rocket engineers who constituted the INCOSPAR.
On this special day - August 15th, 1969, India celebrated both its 22nd Independence Day and the formation of INCOSPAR. This organization would later evolve into the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a mission to use space technology for the nation's development and exploration of our planets. Fast forward several years and ISRO has become one of the six largest space agencies in the world. India has an extensive fleet of communication and remote sensing satellites, providing the country with reliable communication and earth observation. let's take a look at its incredible space journey and the key discoveries .
1) Aryabhata :
 |
Aryabhata Satellite |
On April 19th 1975, India created history by launching its first unmanned Earth satellite, Aryabhata, named after a prominent Indian astronomer and mathematician of the 5th century CE. Assembled at Peenya, near Bangalore, it was launched by a Russian-made rocket and weighed 794 pounds (360 kg). It was instrumented to explore conditions in Earth’s ionosphere, measure neutrons and gamma rays from the Sun, and perform investigations in X-ray astronomy. Unfortunately, the electrical power system failed during the fifth day in orbit, so the scientific instruments had to be switched off. But, thankfully, the team was still able to gather useful information during the five days of operation.
2) Rohini Satellite (RS-D2 ) :
.jpeg "The Indian Space Research Organisation-Isro") |
Rohini Satellite |
ISRO has achieved tremendous success in the world of space exploration. It boasts of the world's largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites and operates the GAGAN and NAVIC satellite navigation systems. It has sent two missions to the Moon and one to Mars and its goals in the near future include expanding its fleet of satellites, landing a rover on the Moon, sending humans into space, and more. Long-term plans include the development of reusable launchers, heavy and super heavy launch vehicles, deploying a space station, and sending exploration missions to external planets and asteroids.
2)Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) :
.jpeg "The Indian Space Research Organisation-Isro") |
Mars Orbiter Mission |
ISRO kept mission costs down by basing MOM’s design on that of Chandrayaan-1, India’s first Moon probe. Using low-power thrusters, the spacecraft increased its orbit over a four week period, breaking free of Earth’s gravity on December 1 and heading to Mars. On September 24, 2014, MOM arrived at Mars and entered a highly elliptical orbit of 423 x 80,000 km (262 x 50,000 miles).
3)Astrosat :
 |
| Astrosat |
Astrosat, India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, was launched in 2015 with an aim to observe and study a wide range of astronomical phenomena. These include active galactic nuclei, hot white dwarfs, pulsations of pulsars, binary star systems, and supermassive black holes located at the centre of galaxies. The observatory will provide detailed and invaluable data that will lead to a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe.
4)Chandrayaan-1 :
.jpg) |
Chandrayaan 1 |
India's first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1, was an ambitious robotic exploration mission that revealed new insights about the lunar surface. Launched in October 2008, the mission included an orbiter and an impactor called the Moon Impact Probe. The mission was equipped with 11 instruments, five of which were Indian while the other six came from foreign institutes and space agencies such as NASA, ESA, Brown University, etc. Chandrayaan-1's mission period of 312 days yielded a complete map of the moon's chemical characteristics and three-dimensional topography. It also surveyed the polar regions in search of possible ice deposits. For its remarkable achievements, the mission team was applauded with honors such as the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SPACE 2009 award and the National Space Society's 2009 Space Pioneer Award.
5) Chandrayaan-2 :
 |
Chandrayaan 2 |
Chandrayaan-2 was the second mission sent to explore the Moon. It was launched on a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV-MkIII) on 22 July 2019, comprising of an orbiter, Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover, all made in India. It was the first mission targeting the uncharted lunar south pole area. The goal of the Chandrayaan-2 mission was to safely deploy a robotic rover to conduct various studies on the lunar surface.
The Vikram lander, transporting the Pragyan rover, was expected to touch down on the near side of the Moon, in the south polar region at a latitude of about 70° S at roughly 1:50 am (IST) on 7 September 2019. However, the lander deviated from its anticipated trajectory starting from an altitude of 2.1 km (1.3 mi), and communication was lost seconds before touchdown was expected. A review board concluded that the crash-landing was caused by a software glitch. The lunar orbiter was successfully positioned in a suitable lunar orbit, increasing its expected service time from one year to seven.
6)Mission Shakti :
 |
Mission Shakti |
On March 27th 2019, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) achieved a milestone with its successful anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test, dubbed 'Mission Shakti'. This was the first of its kind mission for DRDO and a remarkable accomplishment for India, demonstrating the organisation's ability to protect our assets in the vastness of space.
Mission Shakti showed the world that India can be counted on to defend its interests in space, and showcased the organisation's commitment to safeguarding the country's assets. It also showed the incredible progress India has made in space exploration and defence technology. This mission shone a bright light on the DRDO and its many achievements.
7) PSLV-C54/EOS-06 :-
 |
EOS-06 |
On 26th November 2022 ,ISRO is sent to PSLV-C54 - the 56th flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and 24th Flight of the PSLV-XL version! The rocket will carry a primary satellite (EOS-06) and eight Nano-satellites into two different SSPOs. It'll be launched from First Launch Pad (FLP), SDSC, SHAR, and then, it will use two Orbit Change Thrusters (OCTs) to separate the primary satellite in Orbit-1 and the Passenger Payloads (PPLs) in Orbit-2.
Launch of 104 Satellites :
 |
Launched of 104 satellites |
On February 15th 2017, India has made history by successfully launching 104 satellites on a single rocket , surpassing the previous record of 37 satellites launched by Russia in 2014.
Most of the satellites are from foreign countries, with the majority from the United States.
The launch was completed from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota in south India.
The Legacy of Rakesh Sharma - India's First Astronaut :
.jpeg "The Indian Space Research Organisation-Isro") |
Rakesh Sharma |
When we think of India's incredible space achievements, one name stands out in particular - Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space! Rakesh Sharma, a former Indian Air Force pilot, was selected to become a cosmonaut and go into space as part of a joint programme between the Indian Air Force and the Soviet Interkosmos space programme. On April 3rd, 1984, Sharma flew aboard the Soyuz T-11 and was launched into space. For eight days, Sharma operated experiments and made observations about the Earth and its atmosphere with the help of then-Soviet cosmonauts Svetlana Savitskaya and Vladimir Dzhanibekov. Sharma returned to Earth on April 11th, 1984 with a wealth of experience and knowledge that would serve as an inspiration for many future space explorers from India. He is remembered today as a symbol of India's incredible achievements in the field of space exploration.
ISRO’s Role in India’s Development :
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has made its mark in the domain of space communication projects and is making a major contribution to the development and growth of the nation, mentioned ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar in his address.
Additionally, he mentioned that ISRO had around 30,000 employees, among them scientists and technologists, who are dedicated to space missions and taking its benefits to people in various areas like distance education, weather and climatic conditions, and more.
a) Agriculture:
Isro will support a variety of farming-related tasks like crop forecasts, pesticide application, irrigation, soil data collection, and the creation of vital drought-related data. By providing detailed data over a period of months, Isro can offer farmers a chance to make informed decisions about crop yields and other factors.
Crop yield does not happen instantaneously; it is a process that takes place over several months. With constant surveillance, farmers can stay on top of the latest developments in their crop yield and get the most out of their land. Isro's data-collection efforts will no doubt be of great benefit to India's agricultural sector.
b) Telecommunication :
India has one of the largest satellite communication networks in the world, and it is used for a wide range of applications such as land management, water resources management, natural disaster forecasting, radio networking, weather forecasting, meteorological imaging and computer communication. Businesses and administrative services, including the National Informatics Centre (NIC), stand to benefit immensely from the use of satellite technology.
c) Academics :
Educational institutions like the Indira Gandhi National Open University and the Indian Institutes of Technology are using satellites for educational applications. Between 1975 and 1976, India launched its largest sociological program using space technology – the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE). This experiment involved the broadcasting of video programming in local languages through ATS-6 technology developed by NASA, reaching 2,400 villages. This resulted in significant improvement in rural education. With the help of such programs, education can now reach even the most remote rural areas.
d) Telemedicine :
ISRO has implemented its technology for telemedicine, connecting patients in distant communities to medical professionals in metropolitan locations via satellite. As quality healthcare is not universally available in some of the more isolated parts of India, patients in such places are diagnosed and examined by doctors in urban centers in real time by means of video conferencing. The patient is then advised on treatment and medication, and attended to by the personnel of one of the 'super-specialty hospitals' per instructions from those doctors. Mobile telemedicine vans are also sent to areas in remote locations to provide diagnosis and support to patients.
e)Protecting Ecosystems :
ISRO has also made a major contribution to the implementation of Protecting India's ecosystem through Biodiversity Information System, which was completed in October 2002. Nirupa Sen explains the program: "Using intensive field sampling and mapping, combined with satellite remote sensing and geospatial modeling tools, vegetation maps on a 1:250,000 scale were created. This data was put together in a web-enabled database that links gene-level information of plant species with spatial information from a BIOSPEC database of the ecological hot spot regions, such as northeastern India, Western Ghats, Western Himalayas and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This was only made possible through the collaboration between the Department of Biotechnology and ISRO."
Future missions:
1)Aditya-L1 (March 2023):-
ISRO is set to launch the Aditya-L1 mission, the first observatory-class space-based solar mission. Aiming to study the layers of the Sun, from the Chromosphere to the Photosphere, it will be placed in a halo orbit around the first Lagrange point, L1, of the Sun-Earth system. The spacecraft is equipped with seven different payloads, including particle and electronic detectors, to help gain comprehensive data about our star.
2) Chandrayaan-3(June 2023):-
Chandrayaan-3 mission will be a follow-up mission to the 2019 Chandrayaan-2 mission, which had to be aborted due to a technical issue. This mission will continue the research and observations that its predecessor began. Just like the Chandrayaan-2, the mission will include a lander and a rover, but without an orbiter. To make it more captivating and detailed, the mission will be equipped with the latest technological advancements.
3)XPoSat -( Q2 2023):-
XPoSat is an advanced space observatory set to take the exploration of cosmic x-rays to a new level. With its launch by ISRO's SSLV rocket, the mission promises to provide crucial insights into the polarisation of cosmic x-rays. Over the course of its 5-year mission, XPoSat will be studying a range of space phenomena, from x-ray binaries to pulsars.
4) Gaganyaan 3 (2024) :
The Gaganyaan mission proposes to showcase the capabilities of human spaceflight by propelling a crew of three individuals to an altitude of 400 kilometers, on a three-day mission, before safely returning to Earth by landing in Indian seas. To make the story more engaging and longer, the mission entails a detailed exploration of the environment and an in-depth study of the effects of the trip on the crew.
5) Mangalyaan 2 (2024) :
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), better known as Mangalyaan-1, is a space probe launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 5 November 2013. It marked a major milestone for ISRO, propelling the organisation into the elite group of space agencies including the Soviet Space Program, NASA and the European Space Agency that had previously reached Mars. The indigenously built Mangalyaan-1 is the first interplanetary mission for India, and amazingly, it successfully entered the Martian orbit on its first attempt! With the mission to study Martian atmosphere, India became the first Asian nation to reach the Mars orbit and the world's first to do so on its first attempt. ISRO is now gearing up for its next interplanetary mission, with Mangalyaan-2 set to launch in 2024.
Conclusion:
India's space exploration program has an extraordinary track record of accomplishments that have made a huge impact on science and technology. The Indian Space Research Organisation is renowned as one of the world's leading space agencies. As they continue to plan missions with the potential to bring economic and social benefits to India, the future of India's space exploration program looks incredibly promising.