Space Scientist Expresses Confidence Of Mangalyaan’s Success

Although Mars mission have a high failure rate worldwide, renowned space scientist UR Rao has expressed confidence that India’s maiden journey to Mars would be a success.

India launched the Mars Orbiter Mission, called ‘Mangalyaan’, in November 2013. The spacecraft is expected to land on Mars on September 24.

“More than 30% of Mars missions failed in the beginning, but we have undertaken this for the first time and we will succeed. On September 24, we will go to Mars,” said Rao, chairman, council of management, physical research laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. Rao added, “we would be able to colonise Mars in less than 1,000 years.”

He said Indian scientists were also working on L1 mission to study the Sun.

“I am surprised no scientific person is working on the solar corona. We know so little about the Sun. The ignorance is amazing. Papers are being written but we cannot make head or tail of them. Today we have the technological ability to do it. Why are scientific people not doing it? If you have to do great science, you have to have an adventurous attitude,” he told the scientific community at PRL.