India blazes a trail with Mars mission

The first sec of images of the Martian surface taken b y India's Mars O rbiter :Mission (MO!v[) are now availabl e.They were sent hours after the O rbiter was inserted in its orbit of the red p lanet.

lnrua successful1y put the Mars Orbiter Mission, inforrnal1y called Manga(yaa11 (Hinru for 'Marscraft'), in Mars' orbit early on 24 Sept, becoming the first Asian country to reach the Red Planet

Radars at the ea.rth stations of NASA at Goldscone in the US, Madrid in Spain, Canberra in Australia and India 's own deep space network at Baylalu near Bangalore rece ived the raruo s ignals from the Orb iter, coufuming its insertion into the Mars orbit.

India's Prime Minister I arendra l'l'foru witnessed the historic event from the mission control centre in Bangalore and congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for chis significant milestone. He described i t as "achieving the near impossible", and said it "muse become a base for chal1enging rhe next frontier".

He added, "Of the 51 m issions attempted across the wor.ld so far, a mere 21 have succeeded. But we have prevailed we have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise and imagination" lnrua's Mars O r biter Mission (1,1011) traversed over 650 millio n km tbrougb deep space for over nine months to successfully reach the planet's orbit. i\{AVEN and MOM now join five spacecraft already operating on Mars surface or in orbit, including three orbiters - Mars Od)'ssey, Mars Reconnaissa nce Orbiter and Mars Express - and cwo rovers on the surface, Cmiosity and Opportunity.

ISRO became the fourth international space agency after National Aeronautics a.nd Space Administration (NASA) of the US, Russ ian Federal Space Agency (RFSA) and European Space Agency co have undertaken successful mi ssions to Mars. All three had failed in their fi r st attempts, and a similar mission by China failed in 2011.

The arrival came two da)'S after the ! ASA spacecraft, Mars Atmosp here and Volatile Evo lution (MAVEN) , entered the planet 's orb it.

NASA said in a statement, "\V/e congratulate the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for its successful arriv al at Mars with the Mars Orb iter Mission (MOi\1).

Ir was an impressive engineering feat, and we welcome Inrua to the famil y of nations studying another facet of the Red Planet. Al l space exp loration expands the fro n tiers of scientific knowledge and improves life for everyone on Earth. We commend this significant milestone for India".

More about MOM

The 1,350 kg spacecraft has three solar panels for generating energy and three antennas (high, meruum and lower) for radio links w ith earth stations and deep space networks

It ca r ries five insu-umems (pa yloads) on board.

The first instrument, Mars Colou r Camera (MCC) ,vill provide images of the planet's SLLrface fean1res and weather patterns such as dust storms. It will a lso phorograph the Red Pl anet's two moon s, Phobos and Dei.n10s.

The second instrument, Methane Sensor (MS) , will look for methane gas in the :Martian atmosphere, as its presence may inrucate whether life can be supported or sustained on the planet.

The third i n strument, Mars Exosphe re Neutral Composition Anal yser (ME CA), will study neutral gas atoms fou.nd in the outermost part of the Martian atmosphere.

The fou r th instrument, Lyman Alpha Photometer (LJ\P) , w ill measure the relative abundance of two isoropes of hydrogen co understand the process by which Mars has been losi n g its atmosphere and turning into a dry p lanet from a wet one.

The fifth instrument, Thermal Infrared Imagery Spectrometer (TITS) , will map the surface temperature to understand the compos ition and mineralogy of Mars.

As part of a scaled-up space programme, the country's first interplanetary probe is a statement ro the world on India's technol ogical capability, skilled workforce and frugal engineering, t hat it is a lowcost p layer in the high -cost exploration business. And there i s a space economy in the making.

The Rs 450-crore (Rs 4.5 bn / US$74 million) missio n took jllst 15 months in execution (to b last oft) after the governn1ent approved it in August 2012. The satellite was built by Inrua.n scientists and engineers, launched from Inruan soil, using an indigenous rocket and carrying home-grown instruments to read the biochemi srry of the intriguing planet.

The b last-off on Nov 5 20'13 was itse l f significant as i t marked the silver jubilee of the Pohr Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

India's space programme for India, it has been an increruble journey Ar the inception of the space programme in the 1960s, the focus was on "technology independence" and small rockers were launched to investigate the ionosphere over the magnetic equator that passes over Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram. Soon the potential of space technology for social benefi ts was realised and since then the space programme has been an integral part of the deve lopment agenda.

Al so, the space programme is mostly se l.freliam - a consequence of tl1e "techno logy denials" b y the US and Europe fol1owing the 1974 nuclear tests.

And the capabilities established in the process have been used in a host of sectors like communication, education and healthcare. About 270 techno logies developed for the space programme have been transfer red to industries for commercial applications

Koppillil Radhakrishna.n, ISRO chairman, says some of the outcomes of MOM, for examp le the in- built autonomy that is provided in this spacecraft, can become a reality as a product or system and be used in satellites to in1prove tl1eir efficiency.

"So they percolate to application , which is our main objective. It could be something W<e forecasting cyclones. There is always relevance for a mission such as this".

While the debate will go on in whether a democracy like Inrua sh ould be spenrung millions to increase its space presence, it is a fact that the nation cannot afford to ignore space as a vital resource. Space for India today is "not merely a destination"; it is an engine that has become critical to its economic growth, strategic interests and very wa)' of life.

Already the.re is talk in countri es su ch as the US and China about building spacebased infrastructure for possible bases or colonies on the moon and .lvfars It is said that like the naval powers of olden days

Scientists monitor the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) Manga/yaan probe into orbit around Mars, at the /SRO Telem e try Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore, 24 Sept 2014. which we re able to set up colonies on ocher continents, it will be countries that have established programmes and research which would have tl1e ad vantage on tl1e moon or Mars.

Radhakrishnau says that the country 's first Martian exploration is meant for undertaking meaningful research of a planet chat could be "poss ib ly a future habitat... 20 or 30 years from now".

Most scientists feel Mars is good enough for humans to settle down at some point.

U R Rao, eminent space scientist who led tl1e country's space programme between I 984 an d 1994, questions the critics of the miss ion Just as the country's moon mission Chand.rayan-I, found water molecules in lunar soil, the Mars miss ion, he says, will lead to some "important findings".

Others believe the achieve ments from technology development and strategic capabilities can be applied to other sectors of the economy, triggering in n ovation, and help d1e emerging space economy.

Susmita Mohanty, founder and CEO of Earrh2Orbit, India's first private space start-u p, says Indian companies can leverage the impress ive portfolio of space products and services that ISRO has developed over four decades to serve its needs, exploit tl1e satellite se rvice market, and become competitive in the global marketplace

This, howev er, req uires India co overhaul its space polic y Ir also req uires ISRO to amend i ts policy o n contracts, Inruan industry co share risk and investment, and d1e rwo co co -develop and co - innovate, adds Mohanty, a spaceship designer who earlier worked on Shuttle-Mir m iss ions at NASA's Jo hnson Space Centre in Houston.

The global space economy in 2012 was $304 31 billion in government budgets and commercial revenue. A majority of the revenue came from commercial growth infrastructure and support in dustries, space products and services, GPS devices and chi psets and DTH television.

A successful Mars mission would also be a great booster for India's space ruplomacy. Over die years, the Indian space programme has gone global, sharing its experience with other countries. It has set up the Centre fo r Space Science a.nd Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific at Debra Dun tmder UN sponso rship.

Krishnaswa.my Kastmirangan, former ISRO chairman, believes the Mars miss ion cou ld lead to significant international collaborations and debunk the view that Indi a i s competing wid1 China.

"When we have some capabilities there will be people wanting to join us," says Radhakrishnan.

In the immediate fumre, ISRO will work with J\SA to develop a complex satel lite wid1 dual freq uency radar systems which is p lanned fo r 2019-20. The satellite w ill be b uilt and launched by ISRO.

From IANS reports

Sara h R o b e rts is maki ng h er mark o n the Austra lian acting s cene. Curre ntly the Melbourne beauty is scarring in tl1e Australi an film Fe/019 as A n khi.la, th e m o th er of a young boy killed in a hir a nd run accident

Initially, Sarah didn't chink she had received the part. ''I had three audi tio n s, two in Melbou rn e a n d then a fin al call-b ack in Syd ney," she recalls. ''I r was terrible! I wall,ed o ut o f the Sydne)' auditio n and c alled m y mum and told he r, ' I think 1 stuffed ir up, I won 't gee it'. Then I had to wait two wee ks t o hear back a nd I was thinking, 'I definitel y won't gee ic, they've picked someo n e else' I was wal king ho m e fro m Chapel Street (in Melbourne) and crying th.i nking about how bad everything was, w hen m y age nt cal.led to te ll m e I got th e ro le That certainly rurned m y day around !"

Preparation for the rol e involved using the 'Chub buc k' technique, an acting m etho d involv ing emotional substitutio n. Sa rah worked closely with the cltlld ac tor playing her son as much as p ossible prior to filmi n g in order co create the sen se o f em o tio n al loss. "I also sat in hospital a lot," she says. "It was really sad , and l h ad to draw o n and channel th a t o n set "

" It has got co be m y favourite ro le up to n ow," Sara h continues. " The cast a nd crew wer e all awesome, a nd i t 's a g r e at film. We had a great atmosphere on set, and it was tl1e most challenging ro le for me."

Alon g w ith tl1e Ii Im 's wri tee J oel Edger co n and director Matthew Saville, Sara h and tl1e Feloi!J team are ge tting ready to ta ke the film to LA this month

"It's amazing bec au se it was a ye ar ago that we were caking the film to To ro nto (film festival)," Sarah says " Ir's awesome to see the r espo n se You don't get sick of i t Each time )'O U're in a different part o f the wodd it's a different feeling. In Toronco it was fun bec ause I h ad never been the re before or to the Festival, and in Melb ourne (for MIFF) it was exciting co show everyo ne at h ome what I've been d oing "

Sarah b egan dance classes arou nd age three and enjoyed the perfo rm ance aspect. "I love the feeling of freedom w h en I' m da ncing," sh e says

After leavin g sch oo l, aged 18, Sarah m oved to Tokyo, Japan a nd scored a role wo r ki ng in D isney's produc tion of Aladdin "I was Princess Jasmi n e," Sarah recalls, "And i t was great playi ng a princess eve ry day. The way you 're treated in that environment, you really ge t to feel like a prince ss!"

After three years, and after ge ttin g the tas te fo r ac ti ng, Sarah m oved bad< to Australia w here she sc ored roles in televisio n series inclndingja£k Irish, the lNXS telemovie and Neigbho11rr where she played the much - desp ised Sienna

" It's cool co be recogn ised," Sarah says, " Bu t peop le didn't like m y character o n Neighho11rs so I did receive hate mail , mainly mean stuff on the internet. \'\'hen I first saw it I got upset, buc after speaki ng with ocher accor s, I've learned, in tbis industry, yo u can't let tha t ger to yo u."

Growing up in M el bourne with exotic look s, tl1anks to her d iverse A us tralian and Sri Laokan heritage, Sara h faced prejudice. "My siste r a nd I wen t to sc hool on the p eninsula and the o rher kids we re n 't used to seei ng p eople like us, ir was all very AngloSaxon. They called us name s, but because o f that expe rienc e I'm a stro nger perso n now," she says

That stren gth he lped Sarah w h en she was o n the televis io n s series B0l911vood Star where ord ina ry Au stralians were g ive n t he chance to sco re a role in a film by legendary Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt. As pare of tl1e final six, Sarah we n t to .tviumb ai and stayed ,vith a family in the slw n s of tl1e city.

"It seem s like a .lifetime ago," Sarah says " I made som e really good friends and 1 got co go co India and experie nce Indian culture a nd see bow ilie film industry wocks over iliere, but B o l.l ywood is ver y hard. Ul timately, I had to decide if I wanted to d o Bollywood or Hollywood , and I chose co cackle Hollywood."

''I h ad just finished Bo!(y11Jood Star w h e n l auditio ned for Felony, a nd I actually b ased some of An kh ila o n th e m other from the fa ntlly I me t in India," Sarah reveals " T his m other - a ll she cared abou t w as her c hil dren duo Vamp, w h ich p lays at venu es a nd festi vals aro un d Australia. The pair have worked wirh H o l.lywo od singer Eve an d will be supporting A q ua o n their cour later th.i s year " It's n ot too hard to balance DJi ng with acting, i t's half and half," Sarah says.

She was married at 14 and h e r children were everythi ng She was just all about making sure they bad the oppor tunities to work and be bett er."

For a long time Sarah shied away from her Sri Lankan heritage, but now she embraces her unusual looks. "I'm casting fo r so many different ethnicities - Iranian , Afghani, lraqi , Australian. I like being abouc to learn all the different accems and embrace learning parts of these new languages for r o les and auditions."

"It does n't matter to me if it's film or TV," Sarah says, " I just Like acting."