So says an “interactive module” prepared by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for nursery and Class I and II children and released by the Modi.2 government on Tuesday. The text, word formulations, several space experts said, gives the impression that the Chandrayaan-3 mission was possible (sic) because of the “encouragement of the Prime Minister”, which is against ISRO’s track record of never giving up after failure. This was reported by Basant Kumar Mohanty in The Telegraph today.

These special supplementary reading modules on the Chandrayaan mission have been brought out by the NCERT, a body which prepares school textbooks, for children from the foundation, preparatory, middle, secondary and senior secondary sections. They were released by education minister Dharmendra Pradhan at a programme in the presence of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairman S.P. Somanath.

This module, which is meant for the foundation stage, is an interactive document where the teacher initiates a discussion with the children and tells them about Chandrayaan. One of these modules for the secondary stage says Modi had a “crucial role” in the success of Chandrayaan-3. “The leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi played a crucial role in the triumph of Chandrayaan-3 and landed our country’s name on the surface of the moon,” it says.

A space analyst who wished to remain anonymous said the text created the impression that the third Moon mission was possible because of the Prime Minister and was not in consonance with Isro’s performance record. He also said the Satellite Launch Vehicle launched by Isro in 1979 had failed. But the agency tried again the next year and was successful. ISRO’s Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle failed in 1987 and again in 1988, but was launched successfully in 1994. Isro’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle failed in 1993, but was successfully launched in the next attempt the following year.

“After every failure, ISRO never gave up. But the text in the NCERT module creates the impression that Chandrayaan-3 was launched only after the Prime Minister asked the scientists to try once more. This may not be matching Isro’s track record,” the space expert said.

The module has pictures of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s surface, the Prime Minister joining the live telecast of the launch and his interaction later with scientists at the Isro headquarters in Bangalore. Moreover, one more module for middle school children seeks to provide information on India’s traditional knowledge related to space, appearing to mix science and mythology.

“Did scientific achievement happen only now?… Literature tells us that it can be traced back through Vymaanika Shastra: ‘Science of Aeronautics’, which reveals that our country had the knowledge of flying vehicles in these days,” the module says, adding: “This book has mind boggling details of construction, working of engines and gyroscopic system.”

“The Vedas, the oldest of Indian texts, makes a mention of various gods being transported on wheeled chariots pulled by animals, usually horses, but these chariots could also fly,” the module adds. The module refers to Pushpak Vimaan, a floating chariot mentioned in the Ramayana.

“It was created by Vishwakarma, the chief architect of gods, out of the dust from the Sun for Brahma. Brahma gave it to Kuber. When Ravana took over Lanka from Kuber, it was used by Ravana as his personal vehicle,” the module says.

Sabrangindia had reported how, NCERT under the present regime has invited controversy after controversy excluding Darwin from science texts inviting sharp criticism from India’s top scientists; “dropping” all mention of Maulana Azad, India’s first education minister and also references to catastrophic bouts of intra-community carnages be it Gujarat 2002 or others. In fact just a few months ago, in July 2023, Suhas Palshikar and Yogendra Yadav distanced themselves from the NCERT after such crude moves at exclusion from the civics curriculum.

On June 9, in an open letter to the Director, NCERT, stating they were “Embarrassed” with the NCERT textbooks, Suhas Palshikar, Yogendra Yadav asked NCERT to drop their names. Following recent controversial changes made to political science textbooks, the political scientists wrote to NCERT asking it to drop their names as chief advisors. We feel embarrassed that our names should be mentioned as chief advisors to these mutilated and academically dysfunctional textbooks,” they said.

The letter was written jointly by Suhas Palshikar and Yogendra Yadav since they have been advisors for political science textbooks for the central body. They released their letter in light of disagreements with controversial changes that the education council recently made to many of its textbooks. “We were never consulted or even informed of these changes … The frequent and serial deletions do not seem to have any logic except to please the powers that be,” Palshikar and Yadav said in their letter to the NCERT director. Prof. Suhas Palshikar and I have dissociated ourselves from the six NCERT textbooks that we had the honour to put together but that have now been mutilated beyond recognition. We have asked NCERT to remove our names from these books.

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The post NCERT module “credits PM Modi” for success of Chandrayaan-3, skips ISRO’s track record appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This monumental leap for India’s space exploration prowess was the result of many minds and many scientists of which women formed an essential part. In addition to historic feat symbolising India’s space prowess, the growing role of women in space exploration has also inspired future generations of India, showcasing the extraordinary role that Indian women have been playing since time immemorial.

As provided by a senior official of ISRO to Economic Times, “There are about 54 female engineers/scientists who worked directly in the Chandrayaan-3 mission. They are associate and deputy project directors and project managers of various systems working at different centres.” 

Ritu Karidhal Srivastava, also known as the ‘Rocket Woman of India’, also played a crucial part of the team behind India’s ambitious moon mission is. Dr Karidhal is a senior scientist at the ISRO who was the Mission Director of Chandrayaan-2 and the Deputy Operations Director of Mangalyaan, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). As a senior scientist at ISRO, her contributions have been instrumental in India’s space exploration endeavours.

Karidhal joined ISRO in November 1997 and has since worked on a number of noteworthy missions and served as operations director for a number of different programs. APJ Abdul Kalam, a former president of India, had presented her with the “ISRO Young Scientist Award.” She had also been awarded with the “ISRO Team Award for MOM in 2015,” and the “ASI Team Award.” Additionally, she was recognized as a “Women Achiever in Aerospace” in 2017 by the Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies & Industries (SIATI).

Kalpana K., who served as the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s deputy project director, is another notable and prominent participant in this historic endeavour. She also invested her time and energy into inventing and improving lander systems. Since 2003, Kalpana has been working for ISRO as a scientist. In her early years at ISRO, she contributed to a number of satellite projects that resulted in the launch of communication and remote sensing satellites. In addition, Kalpana worked closely on the Chandrayaan-2 project and was a key member of the team that developed the Mars Orbiter project (Mangalyan). 

According to an article of SheThePeople, Kalpana’s talent shined brightest during the Chandrayaan-3 project, where her proficiency in designing and optimizing lunar lander systems played a crucial part in resolving difficult engineering issues. In a speech addressed to the ISRO and the nation as a whole following the successful landing of the Rover on the surface of the Moon, Kalpana beamingly proclaimed, “We have landed the Rover on the Moon!”

She had further said, “This will remain the most memorable and the happiest moment for all of us and for our team at Chandrayaan-3. We have achieved our goal flawlessly from the day we started rebuilding our spacecraft after the Chandrayaan-2 experience; it has been breathe in and breathe out Chandrayaan-3 for our team. Starting from the reconfiguration and all the assemblations we have conducted meticulously; this has only been possible because of the team’s immense effort.”

Chandrayaan-3’s tremendous achievement highlights the expanding role of Indian women in the realm of space exploration. Ritu Karidhal Srivastava and Kalpana K.’s outstanding accomplishments, as well as those of many others who participated in the moon mission, are evidence that gender boundaries are being broken down, allowing for the flourishing of various viewpoints inside ISRO and the larger scientific community. 

The achievements of women featured above serve as an inspiration to numerous young minds desiring to contribute to the cosmos, as well as those who wish to reach the sky in other sectors, as India continues to demonstrate its dominance in space exploration. Future generations of scientists and explorers in India and abroad will be inspired by and paved the way by the vital contributions made by women to the area of space exploration and their unshakable dedication to scientific excellence.

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The post Sky is the Limit: Invaluable contribution made by women scientist in moon mission appeared first on SabrangIndia.