Hailing the achievements of the country’s scientists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Chandrayaan-2 was a successful mission and it had generated curiosity about science among the youth.
Noting that no country in the world would progress without science and technology, Modi said science is not like preparing instant noodles and people should not expect immediate results from scientific researches.
He insisted that scientific discoveries might not be of immediate help to the present generation but could be beneficial in the future.
“Our scientists worked hard on Chandrayaan 2 (mission to the moon). Everything didn’t go as planned but the mission was successful. If you look at the broader perspective, you will see it is a major feat in India’s list of scientific achievements,” Mr. Modi said while addressing India International Science Festival in Kolkata via video conferencing.
Communications with Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander to ISRO’s ground station were lost just before its soft landing on the hitherto unexplored lunar south pole in the early hours of on September 7.
If the lander had pulled off the historic touchdown, the country could have joined the US, Russia and China in soft landing on the lunar surface.
The Prime Minister said the Chandrayaan-2 mission had generated curiosity among the young and the old alike.
“Scientific research cannot be like preparing noodles or buying instant pizza, it requires patience and the outcome of such research can provide long term solution to people,” Modi said.
There is no failure in science and there are only efforts, experiments and success, he said.
“If you go ahead keeping these things in mind, you would not face any problem in the path of either science or your life,” Mr. Modi said.
“Necessity was earlier believed to be the mother of invention, and now invention itself has extended the boundaries of needs,” he said.
Requesting the researchers to think about long term benefits and solutions while pursuing experiments, he asked them to keep in mind international rules and standards.
“The interest in science should be channelised in scientific temperament. It is our responsibility to channelise this curiosity and give them a platform. We have to take science and technology researches forward along with human values. Our country has given several top scientists to the world,” he added.
“It seems scientific research has created a new wave of curiosity and motivation among young students,” Mr. Modi said adding that he is happy that scientific temper is at a different level in the country now.
