James Mathew

India has splendidly made its way to the moon, and I am one among the 1.4 billion Indians celebrating this giant leap made by India on an unexplored challenging territory on the moon. Amidst this ecstasy, the entrepreneur in me celebrates the fact that Chandrayaan’s journey to the moon started from an intentional crash in 2008. And ISRO had previously faced failures that the world watched minute by minute. Yet today, India sashayed its way into the league of superpowers by flying the Indian tricolor high on the moon’s surface. Till today it was only the United States, Russia and China who had made their way to the moon.

To me, India’s scientific expedition to the moon is a journey that has unraveled some of the most humane, humble, and empowering moments in the history of mankind. Let me share some of my favorites here:

1. In 2008, a small Indian probe crashed into the moon only to make the biggest discovery ever, there were signs of water. Could it ever be imagined that the seed of thought about India’s mission to the moon was born from an intentional crash? Remember, the starting point of every peak of success is always a thought.
2. On July 22nd 2019, Chandrayaan – 2 was sent to space but crashed on the Moon’s surface on September 7 due to a partial failure. This failure led to the witnessing of a humane moment when ace scientist and ISRO Chief K Sivan was emotional and found consolation on the shoulders of India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. A humble realisation that the best of us cannot escape the clutches of failure and in moments of failure, those in power can change the game, by simply showing up with empathy, grace and faith in a person’s capabilities and intentions.
3. Nearly 15 years after the intentional crash and almost four years after Chandrayaan 2 was lost , ISRO successfully guided ‘Vikram’ through a tricky dance of gravity and speed to a soft landing on the south polar region of the moon. Sometimes we may get our facts right and processes in place, yet be exposed to risk. The only solution is to face the fight and push one’s boundaries over and above the failures.
4. Think about it. Being a scientist in ISRO requires academic genius, and the team that took on the Chandrayaan-3 project included some of the sharpest minds in India – yet the crowd gathered in ISRO’s Mission Operation Complex waited with bated breath. It was only when the lander was merely 812 metres away from the moon, that the scientists at ISRO erupted in applause for the first time and showed hints of unbridled joy knowing their mission had finally made it to the moon.

Not just any part of the moon — Chandrayaan-3 landed on unexplored territory of the moon peppered with thousands of craters and hundreds of obstacles rising out of the ground—one of the most challenging to land on when it comes to interplanetary locations.

A magical mission to the moon indeed! India has done us so proud and how.

The author is Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner at UHY James Chartered Accountants, Dubai, UAE; ARISE UAE Board Member, Independent Non-Executive Director of GCC Healthcare Group; former Chairman, ICAI-Dubai Chapter; and former Secretary- General of IBPC Dubai.

The post India writes history in space, Indians ecstatic appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

The Sultanate of Oman plans to join the club of spacefaring nations and will launch its first space satellite in 2024, according to HE Dr Said Hamoud Al Mawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology.

The announcement came ahead of the country’s 50th National Day on November 18. The minister said Oman’s plans began in 2006.

“We have to address the role of the private sector to this effect, and establish a company to launch the first satellite in 2024,” he said. “There are practical advantage for our national space programme, advanced technology, and artificial intelligence.”

The minister said the Sultanate’s space programme is a key programme for his ministry, and will be announced in 2021.

“The Sultanate has accorded due care and attention to the transport, communications and information technology sector, led by late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimour since the dawn of the blessed renaissance,” he revealed. “We are heading forward with the march of the renaissance under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik.”

Space cooperation between India and Oman

On the occasion of Oman’s National Day, HE Hamed Saif Abdul Aziz Al-Rawahi, Ambassador of Oman to India, had told an Indian daily that “Oman was one of the first countries in the Gulf region that exhibited an interest in forging space cooperation with India nearly a decade ago”. In February 2018, an MoU was signed on cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, which would enable both sides to cooperate in space science, technology and applications, he said. Improved bilateral partnerships have seen India assisting in building Oman’s capabilities, including training and human resource development.

The post Oman to launch its first satellite in 2024 appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

It was on September 22 that the International Space Station (ISS) performed an avoidance manoeuver to avoid a collision from small space junk. Soon after the incident, Nasa revealed that the manoeuver was made possible by a joint operation by the Russian and US flight controllers, and the space agency urged better management of space debris to world countries. And now, a new report has suggested that 75 per cent of space debris in the space is unknown objects.

The new study suggested that satellite-threatening debris in the high-earth orbit is not tracked closely enough, and it could negatively impact the functioning of satellites that are responsible for serving multifarious things on the earth that includes navigation, communication, and weather services.

Human-made trash has been steadily increasing in the orbit since the 1950s as it was during this time that humans started launching satellites. According to space experts, orbital debris comprises old, defunct satellites and, rockets that were used to take these satellites to the earth’s orbit.

“It’s important that we continue to observe the geosynchronous region with large telescopes wherever possible, to start to build up a more complete feel for the faint debris environment. With this survey, we’ve probed deeper than ever before, and still, the population appears to be climbing as our sensitivity limit is reached. While we’re dealing with small number statistics here, it’s unsurprising that we see many more small, faint objects than large, bright ones,” said James Blake, a PhD student at the University of Warwick Department of Physics and the lead author of the study.

A few months back, the International Astronomical Union had slammed Elon Musk’s Starlink project, claiming that the rising number of satellites on earth’s orbit could affect star gazing. Some other space experts believe that increased space debris could trap humans on the earth, as they will be unable to conduct deep space missions in the future due to these rising trash.

The post Rising number of space debris in earth’s orbit could destroy satellites appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

It was in the 1960s and 1970s that Nasa, the United States space agency, landed humans on the moon. These missions suggested that humans could stay safely on the Moon for a few days without any problems. However, Nasa did not measure the daily space radiation that hits the moon’s surface. And now, a team of scientists, using the data provided by China’s Chang’e 4 lander, has unveiled the space radiation level in earth’s natural satellite.

According to the new study report, the radiation in the Moon is two to three times higher than the radiation received in the International Space Station (ISS). This is mainly due to the partial protection ISS is receiving from the earth’s magnetosphere. Interestingly, the radiation received on the moon is 200 times higher when compared to the space radiation that hits the earth’s surface.

“The radiation of the Moon is between two and three times higher than what you have on the ISS (International Space Station). So that limits your stay to approximately two months on the surface of the Moon,” Robert Wimmer-Schweingruber, co-author of the study told a news agency.

The new study report comes at a time when the United States is planning to land humans on the moon in 2024. The study report is alarming, and it has made many people believe that NASA is putting the life of astronauts at risk by sending them to the moon again.

Recently, astro-biologist Samantha Rolfe had also expressed similar concerns, and she had claimed that upcoming Mars colonisation missions could turn suicidal, as the Red Planet does not have a magnetosphere of its own.

The post Space radiation in moon could hinder upcoming NASA missions appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

More details about this discovery

The seemingly bizarre discovery is being made by Scott C Waring, a self-styled extraterrestrial researcher who is currently operating from Taiwan. In a recent post on his website ET Data Base, Waring claimed that this alien base which has an opening on its surface.

“I found this black structure and normally would have passed it up, but I instead used software to correct the out of focus screenshot from the moon map. The Black structure is like something out of a move. It has a big opening facing us and two long parts sticking out. There is clearly an amazing building here, but its more…its a ship that can move locations, but I guess they either parked it here to return later, or abandoned it,” wrote Waring.

Waring alleges NASA for alien coverup

Conspiracy theorists including Waring strongly believe that NASA, the United States space agency is well aware of alien existence. According to Waring, the space agency is intentionally covering up facts surrounding extraterrestrials fearing public panic.

A similar debate happened a few months ago when Waring discovered a structure very similar to a thigh bone on Mars. After making this discovery, Waring requested Donald Trump to make him the head of NASA, so that he can open up facts about the alien presence. However, skeptics have always dismissed Waring’s findings calling it cases of pareidolia, a phenomenon where the human brain forms recognizable images on unknown patterns.

The post Alien hunter claims to have discovered an extraterrestrial base on moon appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

The cost of the Hope Mars Mission is among the lowest in the world at US$ 200 million compared with similar programmes, said UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi.
At a media briefing in Dubai on June 7, Al Gergawi elaborated the achievements of the Emirates Mars Mission team. This includes development of 200 new designs, manufacturing of 66 pieces of the probe components in the UAE, publishing 51 research papers on the project, and benefitting over 60,000 participants through EMM’s scientific and academic programmes.
“Today, the mission reached another milestone, when the spacecraft was positioned on to the rocket that will send it into space,” he said. “Commitment to deadlines is an approach that the UAE is following in all its plans and projects.”
The Mission’s success, Al Gergawi said, is in line with the UAE’s success in containing the coronavirus.
The Hope Probe is set to lift off on July 15 at 00:51:27 UAE time from the Tanegashima Space Centre, Japan. The probe is anticipated to enter the Mars orbit in February 2021, coinciding with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.

The post Cost of Hope Mission among lowest globally appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

The decision taken is in line with the long-term vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of transforming India and making the country self-reliant and technologically advanced.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will continue to play its role, the government said, adding that the new organization will supplement it.“It’ll guide the private industries in space activities through encouraging policies in a friendly regulatory environment,” said Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Atomic Energy & Space.

These reforms, the government said, will allow ISRO to focus more on research and development activities, new technologies, exploration missions and human spaceflight programme. The Public Sector Enterprise ‘New Space India Limited (NSIL)’ will endeavor to re-orient space activities from a ‘supply driven’ model to a ‘demand driven’ model, thereby ensuring optimum utilisation of space assets.

Some of the planetary exploration missions will also be opened up to the private sector through an ‘announcement of opportunity’ mechanism, the government said.With this, the government believes that there is an opportunity for large- scale employment in the technology sector and India becoming a global technology powerhouse.

The post Government unlocks space sector appeared first on The Gulf Indians.