CHANDRAYAAN-1, 2008 - THE MOONSHOT AND BEYOND

Rakesh Sharma, India's first astronaut, whetted our appetite for space. Chandrayaan-1 made that a reality, and spawned a series of spectacular successes

- BY AMARNATH K. ΜΕΝΟΝ

Indians of a certain vintage would not forget that April evening in 1984, spent in front of their black-and-white television sets showing grainy footage of Rakesh Sharma aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11—the first Indian to orbit in space. But though Sharma's famous journey to space station Salyut 7 and back faded in public memory, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was planning the nation's initial forays in planetary exploration.