The odyssey of Mir

THE FLAMING AND spectacular splashdown of Russia's Mir in the southern Pacific writes the last chapter of a truly magnificent space history spread over fifteen years since it was launched in 1986. Such a prolonged presence of Mir in the void of space which had housed Russian and U.S. astronauts for extended periods for observation and study of the cosmos should be ranked along with the other achievements of the twentieth century. Mir, orbiting at an altitude of 400 kilometres, should have recorded its observations from its vantage point in space and these should have been well preserved for facilitating further research long before the space station plunged into the Pacific. Well thought- out attention must be given to the extensive publicising of the material gathered by Mir and access to the same must not be restricted to just a few privileged cosmonauts and scientists. It should not be forgotten that the Mir could remain so long in space only because of the support it was given by the Russian taxpayers. The decision to bring it down was taken not merely because Russia was running out of money but for other technical reasons as well.

The Russians are not happy over having to play a subordinate role in the 16-nation international space station which the U.S. would be dominating because of their no longer being in the same position they had reached after the launching of the Sputnik in 1957 and Yuri Gagarin stepping out as the first space man. The Mir itself had to be repaired after the ramming of a cargo vessel, Progress M-34, and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had to play a major role in repairing it. While this would not have pleased the Russians, it should also have made them realise that such emergencies which space programmes would run into would have to be taken into account and could be much handled much better with international cooperation. Though ploughing a lonely furrow in space would raise the prestige of a country, enlisting the partnership of other nations should not be grudged as it is an act of sportsmanship.

If the Russians are now sorry that the disabling of the Mir had left them with no choice but to abandon it, they should realise

that its fifteen-year stay in space actually is a bonus as it is five times longer than what was initially hoped for. This should throw much light on the engineering required for ensuring the sturdiness of a space station. Among the relatively later arrivals here is the composite fibre which imparts strength while keeping down the weight of planes and space vehicles. The demands for sustaining the knowledge which is unfolding itself rapidly at the existing levels and making further headway will have to be met by teaching and training scientists, engineers and technologists in much larger numbers than at any time earlier. The fall-out here has been the opportunities which Indian scientists and engineers have gained for carrying out space research in India and the U.S.

The long sojourn of Mir in space should have advanced knowledge at all levels, principally the medical science for studying the rigours of the spacemen who had lived in it for prolonged periods. The Mir takes its place among the achievements which the twentieth century had witnessed starting with the invention of the aeroplane by the Wright Brothers, Einstein's Theory of Relativity which revolutionised space perceptions, the deep sea exploration by Jacques Piccard, the ascent of Mount Everest which had defied mountaineers for a long time and the landing on the moon. With the accelerated advance of science and technology, the present century should be poised for much bigger leaps.

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