Editorial 1: Chandrayaan-3 mission: Why ISRO wants to explore the Moon’s south pole
Recent Context:
- Recently, India’s space agency, ISRO is going to launch Chandrayaan-3 mission which is India’s third lunar mission.
- It is a follow-up to the 2019 Chandrayaan-2 mission, which partially failed after its lander and rover couldn’t execute a soft-landing on the Moon
- According to ISRO officials, the Chandrayaan-3 will reach the lunar orbit almost a month after its launch, and its lander, Vikram, and rover, Pragyaan, are likely to land 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.
- If everything goes well, the Chandrayaan-3 will become the world’s first mission to soft-land near the lunar south pole.
- All the previous spacecraft to have landed on the Moon have landed in the equatorial region, a few degrees latitude north or south of the lunar equator.
- Earlier NASA Surveyor 7 spacecraft, made near 40 degrees south latitude moon landing way on January 10, 1968.
About Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
- Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. It consists of Lander and Rover configuration. It will be launched by LVM3 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
- Lander payloads:
- Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA)
- Chandra’s Surface Thermo physical Experiment (ChaSTE)
- Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA)
- Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) Rover:
- Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)
- Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) Propulsion Module:
- Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE)
- The mission objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are:
- To demonstrate Safe and Soft Landing on Lunar Surface
- To demonstrate Rover roving on the moon and
- To conduct in-situ scientific experiments
Why hasn’t any spacecraft ever landed near the lunar south pole?
- Because of geographical conditions, It is easier and safer to land near the equator. That’s why all the landings on the Moon so far have happened in the equatorial region.
- Even China’s Chang’e 4, which became the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon the side that does not face the earth landed near the 45-degree latitude.
- The terrain and temperature are more hospitable and conducive for a long and sustained operation of instruments.
- The surface here is even and smooth, very steep slopes are almost absent, and there are fewer hills or craters.
- Sunlight is present in abundance, at least on the side facing the earth, thus offering a regular supply of energy to solar-powered instruments.
- On the other hand, the polar regions of the Moon, however, are a very different, and difficult, terrain.
- Many parts lie in a completely dark region where sunlight never reaches, and temperatures can go below 230 degrees Celsius.
- Lack of sunlight and extremely low temperatures create difficulty in the operation of instruments. I
- n addition, there are large craters all over the place, ranging from a few centimetres in size to those extending to several thousands of kilometres.
Why do scientists want to explore the lunar south pole?
- Due to their rugged environment, the polar regions of the Moon have remained unexplored. But several Orbiter missions have provided evidence that these regions could be very interesting to explore.
- There are indications of the presence of ice molecules in substantial amounts in the deep craters in this region. India’s 2008 Chandrayaan-1 mission indicated the presence of water on the lunar surface with the help of its two instruments onboard.
- In addition, the extremely cold temperatures here mean that anything trapped in the region would remain frozen in time, without undergoing much change. The rocks and soil in Moon’s north and south poles could therefore provide clues to the early Solar System.
Why don’t some parts of the lunar polar regions receive any sunlight?
- Unlike the Earth, whose spin axis is tilted with respect to the plane of the Earth’s solar orbit by 23.5 degrees, the Moon’s axis tilts only 1.5 degrees.
- Because of this unique geometry, sunlight never shines on the floors of a number of craters near the lunar north and south poles. These areas are known as Permanently Shadowed Regions, or PSRs.
- In a 2019 report, NASA said, “Water that happens to find its way into PSRs may remain there for long periods of time. Data from the Diviner instrument onboard LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon) which measures temperatures across the Moon, including PSRs, indicate that some surfaces are cold enough so that water is stable at the surface.”
Conclusion:
- Chandrayaan-3 is follow up mission of Chandrayaan-2 mission which aims to demonstrate ISRO’s capabilities and advancement in space for safe landing in south pole of moonTherefore, it will help in further space exploration programme of India
Editorial 2: Taking Digital next steps
Context:
- India is in the midst of a massive digital transformation with the second largest online market in the world, cheapest data rates, and the fastest growing fintech landscape.
Digital acceleration has also created the potential for new divides
- However, it is not complete picture of digital advancement as India’s digital acceleration has also created the potential for new divides.
- For instance, inequitable access to technology has exacerbated the divide in the ability to work from home, as well as in learning outcomes for children during the pandemic.
- Recent surveys have pointed out the systemic lacunae with Aadhaar-based digitisation of social security programmes biometric mismatches or non-possession of Aadhaar can result in denial of benefits.
- Along with it poor access to smart devices and internet services can worsen inequalities in income and opportunitie
Role of digital infrastructure to support and drive the digital economy:
- The State of India’s Digital Economy Report had highlighted the role of missing analogue foundations that support and drive the digital economy. This includes physical and social infrastructure.
- For instance, poor power supply impacts the quality of internet access.
- Lack of Qualitative infrastructure in remote corner of country
- Usage gap on the other hand, is driven by
- poor levels of literacy,
- affordability and lack of digital skills.
India’s initiatives for digitalization:
- The Indian government has set a target to provide 4G network to all uncovered villages by 2024.
- Digital literacy initiatives are being strengthened for various target groups to skill, upskill and reskill users through training, internships and apprenticeship programmes.
- The government is also working towards addressing the weakness of the ecosystem exposed through rising cyber crimes and financial frauds by raising awareness and building technical security. For e.g. The recent launch of Sanchar Saathi is one such initiative.
- With India Stack, government is promoting Digital Public Infrastructure
- By deploying technology at population scale to manage identity verification and make payments and exchange data.
- However, the metrics of digital ambition must not be restricted to the number of new technologies or programmes and their users, but the impact it has on the lives of people
- As is often said, technology is the easy part, making it work for people is the bigger challenge. Chasing targets on the number of users and network participants must expand to include outcomes on financial security, health benefits and better living.
India’s digital vision on its 100th year of independence (Way forward)
- As India approaches its 100th year of independence, digital ecosystems will become inseparable from economic growth.
- There are four principles that policy makers could consider.
- First, Only digital is not the solution:
- not everything needs a digital solution, especially when the building blocks are not ready. Therefore, The preoccupation with “digital only” must be challenged.
- Need for consultative policy making that keeps beneficiaries at the centre of the process.
- Despite the government’s efforts, very often those who are impacted by technology are unable to participate effectively.
- Efforts should be made to strengthen the consultation process, moving towards a ground-up approach to policy formulation.
- Second. Third, focus on adaptive policy and agile regulatory frameworks.
- Policy makers and regulators have been playing catch up with rapidly evolving technologies and changes in business models.
- The paradigmatic shift in economic thinking on competition regulation of digital markets and its interaction with other areas of consumer protection and data privacy suggests that regulatory innovation is imperative.
- Emerging trends in regulatory sandboxing, participative or co-regulation, are instruments that governments need to foster.
- Finally, policy should be grounded in evidence.
- Data on the digital economy is inadequate for any meaningful analysis or assessment of the digital ecosystem. Even basic data on internet users or smartphone users is available intermittently through government surveys.
- One has to rely on private sector sources and scattered surveys to arrive at guesstimates. The success of any transformative process rests on transparency, regular monitoring and impact assessments, which must be institutionalised.
- Therefore, Building accountability for such transformational changes can help establish trust and long-term sustainability.
