2014 belonged to ISRO for Mars Orbiter Mission

To my mind, there was no other greater moment, no other occasion during the entire year when we felt good about being Indian, than when the Mangalyaan was successfully launched.  The true 'Make in India' phenomenon if ever there was one.

Just when we thought that Chandrayaan was our crowning glory as far as space programs are concerned, the team at ISRO have pleasantly surprised us with the 'MOM' of all Indian space programs.  What next?  Suryayaan?! 

Consider what has been achieved by about 500 scientists who worked tirelessly to make this mission a success: 

• India had never before ventured towards Mars
• Only four other missions to Mars had been successfully carried out before - all by western countries
• The cost for putting together the mission was actually less than making the Hollywood film, Gravity, or, as Prime Minister Modi put it, cost less than an auto ride.  

This is just the kind of achievement that reaffirms the faith in our institutions, our ability and ourselves.  

This is just he kind of thing that makes every NRI think, 'why did I leave my country?'  

This is the kind of thing that reassures the scientific community that cutting edge research and innovation can be achieved in our very own land.  

This is just the kind of thing that could put our country in the big league of nations - not just because of military and nuclear might, but because of its scientific achievement. 

In the true spirit of Vasudhaiva kutumbakam, one hopes that the findings from the mission would be used to benefit the whole of humanity, and not just Indians.  

Kudos to the MOM team!   

News/image sources:

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/rs-10-a-km-for-auto-ride-rs-7-a-km-for-india-s-mars-mission-pm-narendra-modi-599185
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/newsmakers-2014-mangalyaan-becomes-the-cheapest-mission-ever-to-the-red-planet/1/408733.html
http://st1.bgr.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/narendra-modi-mangalyaan-mars-inseartion.jpg
https://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/Untitled-1.jpg