BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS

It’s 4:00 a.m. in the cold soothing December morning.  Tiny dew drops could be seen rolling down the tips of the leaves nearby. The whole town of Trivandrum has gone off to the Land of Nod, with most of its streets, junctions and residencies engulfed in darkness; making the city as silent as the grave.  The sun seems to remain shy to slowly come out for the peep of the day; as is expected during winters.  Even during these hours when all the residents and even the animals have tightly embraced sleep, a team of night owls could be seen in the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Veli, Trivandrum; keeping their nose to the grindstone, filled with zeal to go the extra mile to achieve something extraordinary for the nation.  They have been burning the candle at both ends since long; for the success of India’s ambitious mission to Mars, after the previously failed attempt to land on the moon.  Even though the Moon mission had to go back to square one, the experience gained through the attempt was extra ordinary, which helped the ISRO in all further missions and experiments.  The efforts never went down the drain.  The failed Moon landing mission could be seen as a blessing in disguise, after the intense sense of nationality and pride created among the Indians since the heartbreak, with everyone having the hope that the best is yet to be.   From the word go, the Mars Mission had attained huge attention and support, from all sides.  India already had the Mangalyaan probe orbiting Mars, now the target was to land a rover on the surface of the planet.  Within one team in the VSSC are Thomas - the team lead, Hari – the software specialist, Afzal – the rocket science expert, Indu – the design engineer, Ann – the planetary scientist, Shahana – the electronics engineer and Andrew – the chemical sciences expert.

Hari: I just got the code right! I can be off the hook tomorrow while we brief the Chairman! Hurray!

Thomas: Good that you could finally be successful.  Even though you haven’t slept a wink tonight for this, don’t expect that the Chairman will bring down the house for you. For the man who looks after the entire project, this is just a drop in the ocean.

Indu: He might have thought that it’s already in the bag, so it’s great that you finally pulled it off, or else you would have made the Chairman get up on the wrong side of the bed.

Andrew: I feel it’s a long shot that we will be able to meet the Chairman tomorrow.  Won’t he be occupied with the other teams?

Thomas: No! We have been working against the clock! We have to meet him by hook or by crook tomorrow to report our developments.

Afzal: Anyways, I am sure that he won’t entertain any no-brainer developments.

Shahana: But what’s important is to keep our eyes on the ball and not to give any compromise to our work.  Let me see through this circuit design first, and then involve in any analytical gossips.

Thomas: Hey Shahana, you will be required to give me a ballpark figure of our circuits so that I can mention that too in our discussion.

Hari: It drives me up the wall that we are not appreciated for our hardwork. 

Ann: Haha! We all are working for the service of our nation.  It was our call when we chose this amidst a dime a dozen other jobs.  So we all are expected to give our 100% with no strings attached.  And it is also a fact that when compared to some other jobs, we are much better off and not working for peanuts.

Thomas: Hari, you have got a huge chip on your shoulder.  Cut it down. You are actually barking up the wrong tree. How can you expect higher officials to appreciate every single step achievement of every employee! It is the situation that they are in, that they have to look after many things; which makes many of our great accomplishments much less relevant to them. As I said, it is just a drop in the ocean.  But still, every drop counts!

Andrew: Look at the eyes of Hari! He is ready to hit the hay! A little of frustration is surely expected.

Hari: I feel slightly under the weather after taking the bull by the horns for the last couple of weeks.  You people might feel that this coding process is very silly and we just have to sit in front of a screen and type. But trust me; it costs an arm and a leg to turn it into perfection! It’s also not a great idea to pass the buck if something goes haywire.

Thomas: Yeah I know! For our last Chandarayaan-2 mission, I remember how the error was just in a single line of code of soft landing on the surface that we lost the contact with the orbiter just 2.1 km away from success! But I admire our Chairman for playing the devil’s advocate and protecting our software specialists from public humiliation.  In a way, they got off scot-free.

Ann: Yeah! Also it was really inspirational to see how he went down swinging for the next 15 days even after knowing that the communication was lost completely with the orbiter and there was no scope for success.

Afzal: He is a man of parts! Really! He masters the art of wearing many hats.

Thomas: But this time by hook or by crook we shall touch the surface of Mars.

Everyone (motivated): YES! We shall fight tooth and nail for the pride of our nation.

Thomas: Yes! Chandrayaan-2 was not a failure.  Every cloud has a silver lining.  It taught us many lessons.  The darkest hour is just before the dawn. We shall soon come off with flying colours.

Shahana: Let me cut to the chase! I don’t think we will be able to produce a properly designed electronic circuit with the budget that is allotted to us.

Thomas: We have to cut corners, Shahana!  You can’t expect the Government to be a Good Samaritan especially when there are other serious problems like poverty and unemployment still prevailing in the country. We have to reach a point of safe bet. Budget constraint has always been the elephant in the room. We are required to think outside the box.

Shahana: Sir, still if you press, can you talk the Chairman into increasing the fund availability?

Thomas: I shall try but I’m sure it’s not going to fly. It is out in the open that we can’t get more funds.  They may give fake us promises but we all know that all that glitters is not gold.  But still let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Ann: I guess it is also not easy to cut through the red tape.

Indu: All politicians are on the same page regarding this matter. None of them support extra funds for space exploration.  When it comes to buying tanks, submarines, ships and other defense weapons, it seems a necessity for them to spend thousands of crores of Rupees, to create a feeling among the voters that it is for their own safety! And of course for feeding the politicians through various forms of corruption.  The voters end up being between a rock and a hard place.

Andrew: It is difficult to talk them out of it.  They will agree to it only over their dead bodies.  It will always be an uphill battle for us unless some well qualified, educated, selfless and visionary leaders come into power.  That happens once in a bluemoon.

Thomas: But it is to be noted that we still corner the market.  How many nations have reached the Moon?  Even though we couldn’t touch the surface, our unlucky miss just 2.1 km away from glory has made the world realize that we were sleeping giants.

Andrew: But I think the competition is cut-throat, so we need to raise the bars.

Thomas: True that! Let’s get down to business.

Ann: Yeah. Hari you can have a catnap if required.

Hari: No it’s fine.  I don’t prefer to be a sleeping partner.

Shahana (laughs): That’s fine. But take care not to put the cart before the horse in your sleepy mode.

Thomas: Haha fine! Coming to the point, I shall get the discussion off the ground tomorrow with the Chairman. You all should be at the drop of a hat if he suggests any changes. Also be prepared to brief the Chairman about your respective departments.  As a rule of thumb, be to the point and no beating around the bush for any questions that the Chairman asks.

Ann: Sir, how is your Chinese friend with whom you had done your Post Graduate studies in the US?

Thomas: Ya he calls me frequently now.  He is so eaten up with jealousy that he wants to know every update of our project.  It has become a mumbo jumbo these days.  Last day I asked if he is all ready to set Thames on fire.  It’s over the top now. I can’t handle it any more.

Afzal: He might be waiting to hear us pull the plug.

Hari: Ya even I had a Chinese friend and the last time he called me was when we were sitting disheartened after we lost communication with Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. To add fuel to the fire, he asked me if he needs to send any Chinese specialists to find out what went wrong with our landing.

Thomas: But anyways, the Chinese had also appreciated our efforts, in their official statements.

Ann: It’s getting late. Pull up your socks! Let’s get back to work.

And the team got dissolved into their work.  Thomas, the team leader, was always a live wire, and always used to hit the nail on the head for every task assigned to him.  He also made sure that his teammates too learn the ropes.

Time passed and it was 10 a.m. in the morning and the Chairman had come to visit and evaluate the team’s progress.  The Chairman and Thomas were birds of a feather, and hence maintained a good friendship so as to share many things openly with each other.  The meeting went well and the Chairman was more than happy with the progress of the team, and decided to open up a little on future plans.

Chairman: I would like to inform you that we are planning for a bigger mission after this, a much more ambitious one.  We would require the same team of yours once again, since you people gel with each other.  But you will have to shift location to Bangalore.  You all fine?

A heavy silence sank down in the room with most of them surprised by the unexpected question.

  

They had come expecting questions about their current work, but the Chairman seems to be more than satisfied.

Chairman: Silence means consent.

Thomas: Sir, I am wondering if you are talking about the human exploration of Mars!

Chairman: Yes you are right Thomas! Now it is still in planning stage and off the records so keep it between you and me! Even NASA is working on it.  But we would like to be the first one to achieve it.  You know the challenges that can arise. It’s anyone’s call.

Thomas: We understand sir.  Mum’s the word.

Chairman: Why don’t you feel confident Thomas?  We certainly don’t want to get off the wrong foot.

Thomas: Sir, I’m just wondering if we should try for our previously planned Venus orbiter mission instead of a human mission to Mars.  A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Chairman: Haha! A few calculated risks are necessary for success and recognition, dear Thomas!  We have astronauts who can risk life and limb for this project. It’s our inability to take such strong decisions that leads to brain drain of passionate astronauts like Kalpana Chawla and Sunitha Williams.

Thomas: But sir, I still feel I am on the fence.

Chairman: Do not worry. I am the Chairman and the buck stops here.  The name or blame of the mission will in the end come to me only; so you don’t be concerned of it. I shall take it even if it is a failure.  You concentrate and give your maximum in your work.  I’m sure we will be able to achieve what is BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS…

Just as they finished this conversation, an announcement was heard in the hall.  They all stood in attention, with chills throughout them, for the flag hoisting.  The Indian national anthem could also be heard in the background….