Is space travel really a hoax?

Capricorn One (1977)

Director: Peter Hyams

With the confidence of singlehandedly defending the motherland against the German soldiers in Operation Barbarossa in 1941 and essentially stalemating Hitler in the Führerbunker, Russians knew they were no pushovers. Stalin's forced post-war industrialisation efforts skyrocketed the Soviet Union into space exploration.

The Americans, coming out of World War 2 smelling of roses, after being able to turn the war around after their participation, felt they had to be numero uno. After all, after the Second World War, the US of A was the wealthiest nation around. On top of it, the war forced the migration of top scientists from Europe to America.

The 1960s saw rabid competition between leaders of the free world and the communist bloc to outdo the other in space exploration. The race intensified when the Soviets sent their first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, to orbit the Earth in 1961. That spurred JFK to declare that America, the leader of the free world, would send a man to the moon by the decade's end. He asserted, 'We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.' in 1962.

After the disastrous 1967 Apollo I fire, which killed all three crew members, their ability to send a man to the moon and back became suspect. So in 1969, when the USA suddenly announced to the world, with photos and TV transmissions, many sceptics insisted that the Moon Landing was staged in a studio here back on Earth. Flying a man in a tin can, forcing themselves out of the g-forces of Earth, and exposing themselves to deathly ionising radiation that encapsulated the planet was not humanly possible, in their minds. So, when this movie came out, I guess the Moon Landing deniers must be telling everyone, "I told you so!"

Even with the American space programme, funding was always the problem. The Indians later showed they could do all the Americans did for a fraction of their budget. That is another story. Safety was another issue. With the lack of fall-back backup, no rocket would be approved in the 21st century. What they did back then can be termed space charlatans today, promising more than they actually could. 

Due to faulty supplies (as in the Apollo I mission), the life support system in Capricorn One was faulty. To avoid embarrassment, the Agency decided to fake their mission to Mars. The film shows, in a relatively poor execution of storytelling, direction, acting and script writing, how the world is hoodwinked into believing the journey is complete. In fact, the astronauts did not even leave the launch pad.

We see a relatively young James Brolin, Sam Waterson and O.J. Simpson in this 1977 film.

We have come a long way since the 1960s. Now, we are offering space tourism to the rich and high-heeled, just for the kick of it. If you do not mind burning a large hole in your wallet or the long waiting line, those interested should contact Elon Mask or Richard Branson.

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To the naysayers

More than enough people are quick to sneer at India after Vikram's successful soft landing at the Southern Pole of the Moon. On one end, people were quick to say that the whole exercise was a hoax. It is an illusion. Then, others blurted that a country that cannot provide toilets to its citizens and whose population mostly live below the poverty line should not be sending rockets to the Moon (and playing with nuclear bombs). One even threatened to stop monetary 'aid' to India, conveniently forgetting any discussion on repatriation monies after years of looting from India. 

Firstly, everyone knows there is no way for everybody to prosper in sync before society moves up one notch higher. Things happen in tandem. There will be people who will have to do catching up, and there will be those who will lose out in the race for prosperity anyway. The only people who believe that the world needs equity are communists. Again and again, it has been proven that human greed surpasses any attempt at equity and even equality. Four-legged creatures elected to replace their two-legged oppressors will eventually begin standing erect on their hind legs. 

To be fair, India has improved by leaps and bounds since Independence. It has even overtaken its former colonial master as the 5th biggest economy by GDP after being left as the 13th poorest country on the planet when the British left their land. With regards to foreign aid, many quarters deny the usual foreign aid that first-world countries offer to a despotic basket-case government. Monies that trickle into India are investments from which investors hope to draw returns. Some are charity contributions by well-wishers with personal intent, e.g. evangelism and political donations.

With the 'Clean India' campaign in full steam, open defecation is a thing of the past. With many states having 100% access to toilets, open defecation is a thing of the past. 

Paradoxically, the country with the biggest economy must face the same problem. With its chiselled pavements and famous postcode 90120 that it sells to the world, even Los Angeles also has to deal with homelessness, drug addiction and cleaning up the sidewalks littered with human excrement. 

Karma often plays its game most cruelly. The colonisers who robbed their colonies blind now have to be content seeing their descendants being fed by the descendants of their subjects. The innumerable hungry, homeless and impoverished British regularly frequent Sikh soup kitchens for a square meal. 

Our experience from the 1960s space explorations has shown us there are many trickle-down benefits. Besides the numerous improvements in medicine and engineering, it also improves the life of the man on the street. Teflon was discovered. The knowledge to produce heat-resistant garments with adequate cooling technology becomes a game-changer in the day-to-day duties of firemen. Luggage bags with roller wheels have their origin in the space programme. At a time when the younger generation shows scant interest in STEM subjects, these types of ventures will surely rekindle their dwindling keenness. The Industrial Revolution and the subsequent leaps in civilisation did not happen because of economists and linguists but by scientists. Remember the economic opportunities that these ventures that offshoot from space travels. Money spent is not wasted but merely changes hands. Charity and social work can still go on. 

The West cannot handle the paradigm shift in the world order. For more than two centuries, people of the Judeo-Christian traditions held the chalice of power. This century is when the power transfer happens from the West to the East.

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Houston, the Eagle has landed!

Insignia of Apollo 11.

It all started as squabbles between brothers. Much like Kane and Abel, both brothers thought their respective brand of economic reforms was the way forward. One believed in freedom and liberty whilst the other insists that discipline and order bring the best in people. The world soon became divided into two blocks - the vibrant capitalists and the red communists. 

Who said competition is terrible? Did it not surge to dominate over the other? Both tried to showcase their achievements; USA and USSR became the leaders of their respective sects. Industrialisation was viewed upon as the clear proof of success, and soon, the craze of space exploration became the next in-thing.

At one time, it appeared like the Russians were winning with hands down. They had managed to send Laika, the space dog to outer space in 1957. Soon they managed to send Yuri Gagarin (1961) and Valentina Tereshkova (1963, a female cosmonaut) to orbit Earth.

View of Earth aboard Apollo 8 on
Xmas eve 1968. 

This made JFK, in 1962, famously put a challenge to America to land a man to on the Moon by the end of the decade. His seminal speech, given at Rice University boldly proclaimed, "We choose to go to the moon... not because they are easy, but because they are hard..." awoke a nation to singlemindedly venture into space. 

With a chest heaving with hope and accomplishment, the baby boomers, after having fought a world war for a second time which killed off and incapacitated a right proportion of their men in their productive years, raised to the occasion.

Laica, Space Dog (1957)

The Herculean task was dangerous, with many technicality difficulties. So many things had to be sorted out - propulsion forces, complex mathematic calculations, life support, insulation, lunar landing and safe return of astronauts. If that was not enough, faulty electrical wiring caused a fire in Apollo 1 even before launch killing all three crewmen, put a damper on the whole Apollo project. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Americans slowly sprang back into action. Subsequent launches sequentially took crafts to space, to orbit Earth, to navigate around the moon and finally set up a dress rehearsal before finally landing Man on the Moon on 20th July 1969.

After the launch and separation of the spacecraft from the rocket to enter the lunar orbit, the most significant challenge happened in the last thirteen minutes of Eagle's (the Lunar Module) descent onto the moon. 

The computers which controlled the lunar mission were primitive. Humans were just dabbling with computers. In fact, most of the engineers involved in the endeavour were clueless of the word software in computers. The concept of digital portable general computer was alien but was installed in the spacecraft. The data of information carried in the two computers sent in Apollo rocket is comparable to present-day mobile devices. As Armstrong and Aldrin were on their descent, the fourth astronaut (i.e. the computer) gave an unknown alarm - 1202. The third astronaut was, of course, Collin who was in the mothership Columbia orbiting the moon.

Communication between Mission Control and Apollo was painfully inadequate with a lot of static. 

After a moment of uncertainty, it was determined that the computer was screaming out that it had too many commands to respond. That was all. The interesting fact about the engineers assigned at the Mission Control in Houston was that their average age was just 27! Imagine these young punk deciding the safety of the astronaut and shouldering the whole of NASA's dreams.

Then it came to their attention that there were boulders on their planned landing site. Armstrong had to steer the vessel skilfully calculating the descent on the window panel - digital assistance was still primitive. Then he realised that he was running dangerously low on fuel as he found a suitable landing site. He was left with 18 seconds amount of fuel only at docking. 

The drama came to a joyous ending as Armstrong announced, "Houston, the Eagle has landed!" The rest is history as Armstrong laid his foot on the lunar soil to proclaim the now immortalised statement, 'a small footprint for man, a giant step for mankind!'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07grkvh

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Bad moon rising?

It was not just another day. It was a day of jubilation, the day Murugan defeated the asura Suryapadman. Coincidentally, it was also the day of the blue moon showed it fiery side after being engulfed by the dragon. When my mother was a little girl, people devoid of scientific knowledge used to tell that it was a transient event when Mother Nature, tired of holding the Earth all these while, decided to switch hands. Now we know it is the lunar eclipse. If the Supreme Mother is indulged in such gravity-defying task, it is inappropriate for mortals in merrymaking activities including eating and enjoying the outdoors.

In those days, and even now, the event is marked inauspicious. These days, in spite of our technological know-how, the society has somehow paradoxically have re-discovered the splendour of the age-old lost wisdom. They have combined it with current knowledge and try to give it a rational explanation to our ancestors' practices. Substantial changes in the electromagnetic charges restrict people to stay indoors.

With that in mind, all activities were kept to a minimum. Dinner was served, and the kitchen was closed before the onset of the eclipse. Everyone was forced to remain indoors, no TV, no loud music; possibility hallmarks of abstinence from merrymaking. While waiting for the time to pass, what do I receive? A phone call from the hospital of an imminent arrival of a baby. Apparently, the stork had been diligent in his duties. Keeping up my dharma, he rushed to the scene. If everything is pre-determined and happens under the watchful eyes of the Almighty, surely He would not be amused if one shirks his duties on the Makers' account.

Despite all the hullaballoo surrounding the turns of events surrounding the child's delivery amongst a specific circle of people, the mother was ignorant of its significance. As far as she can see it is a joyous event. Her nine months' wait is over, and joy spills in abundance in her young family.

For one group of people (Hindus), there had been a lot of debates and arguments about the lunar eclipse. They were arguing on the merits and appropriateness of keeping the temple open at this time as it was also Thaipusam on that day. Self-proclaimed pandits with their half-baked certainly kept life interesting as the suspense built up to the event with their 'discoveries'. For others, it was just another marvel of the world we live in. They just tell themselves that they are happy to be alive. They humble themselves by immersing themselves in the splendour and beauty of Nature. Still some stare in awe at the ability of the human mind to calculate and predict so accurately that such an event will happen and precisely at a specified time. Splendid!