By Johna Till Johnson
Occasionally a news story really resonates with me. This is one: An Indian spacecraft called Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has just reached orbit around the planet Mars.
And the achievement is astonishing on many fronts: It’s the first time in history that any country’s spacecraft has made it on the first attempt. At $74 million, the effort cost less than making the movie “Gravity”—and almost 10 times less than the US’s NASA Mars mission.
Scientists and engineers cheer as MOM reaches Mars orbit (Photo: Reuters)
And, as with the NASA effort, some of the top scientists and engineers involved are women. There’s something symbolic in “Mother India”—which is linguistically, culturally, and even genetically the ancestor of many of us of European descent—sending a spacecraft called MOM to Mars.
I’m really proud of our Indian sisters and brothers for pulling this off. And I’m psyched to see so many saris involved in the celebration.
MOM, we did it!
Vladimir Brezina (RIP) 
Johna Till Johnson
Wind Against Current 
Anything Mars is exciting in our house so this is an easy sell :) It is astonishing that it was all done for less than the cost of a Hollywood movie.
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Yes, amazing, isn’t it? The trick was apparently to set an achievable goal and stay focused–not get sucked into adding all kinds of bells and whistles that complicated things… Thanks for reading, and posting!
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The joke around here is…that it’s now time to send an explorer to Venus, since the Indian probe could not find any men on Mars! :P And yes, its really a huge achievement, impossible without the women involved in the project!
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Hee hee! Actually, the probe is in fact looking for life on Mars (either male or female)… not sure they’ll find much, but it’s exciting that they’re looking! Thanks for posting.
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Thanks for sharing this interesting and joyful event, Johna. Let’s celebrate :-)
All the best,
Hanna
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You’re most welcome! And yes, any reason for a celebration is a good thing in my book!
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I’m joining you in the cheering!
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Thanks Anna! I can see how this would resonate with you!
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Bravo and kudos to an accomplished MOM Team! I suspect NASA has not only taken note but is a bit chagrined.
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I think mostly just happy…. the Indian mission is a lot more modest in scope. Thanks for posting!
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Quite a good angle to compare the cost with a movie…! And I’m right there with you on happy to see the women involved too!
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Thanks! I can’t take credit for that, in fairness–the comparison showed up in all the news reports I read. But it’s great to see the women.
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Have a nice Time ;-)
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Thanks!
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This blog earned a Bean Pat as blog pick of the day. Check it out at: http://patbean.wordpress.com
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Thanks Pat! Love your blog. And the “Bean Pat’s” have led me to all sorts of other great blogs–much appreciated!
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That’s great news! Leave it to women to do it right the first time and for less money. ;-)
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:-) My thoughts entirely. Thanks for posting!
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I am with you on that one!
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That’s an impressive — really impressive — achievement. Maybe we should skip making fewer movies and have a space program again!
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Who says it’s an either-or? Let’s do both! Thanks for reading, and posting….
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An amazing achievement! :)
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Totally agree. Happy to toast the successes in the world!
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Yes, isn’t it amazing what we ‘little ladies’ can do! LOL
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Isn’t it? Actually, the chief engineer in charge of the Mars Rover (which worked spectacularly well) is a woman. What’s funny is that this is actually no big deal at NASA—everybody is like, “oh, of course she’s great”. A great little lady!
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Look at all those “downtrodden” Indian women giving the thumbs-ups, the high-signs, the victory smiles. Wonderful.
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Yes! I loved that photo. Kudos to the Reuters photographer who took it (strangely, he/she doesn’t seem to be credited anywhere). Saris rock!
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In the National Geographic magazine (can’t remember which month issue) they were saying that scientists discovered water under the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa.
As Shakespeare wrote: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”.
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Very cool! Thanks for bringing that to our attention.
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That sure was a point of pride – The saree-clad women involved in this launch <3 You have a lovely blog here – thank you for sharing :)
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You are most welcome—thank you for following our blog!!
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