[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.30,0:00:04.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Voiceover Countdown] Plus one... two... three... four... liftoff
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.60,0:00:08.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: In early November, India launched a 320-ton rocket
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.86,0:00:11.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on a mission to Mars.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.33,0:00:16.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If all goes according to plan, the Indian spacecraft will travel 485 million miles
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.86,0:00:20.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over more than 10 months and go into the orbit around Mars in September.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.87,0:00:24.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The US, former Soviet Union, and the European Space Agency
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.47,0:00:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are the only ones to have accomplished the feat.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.36,0:00:30.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,DR. RADHAKRISHNAN: It is a challenging task, a complex task.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.11,0:00:32.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: Dr. K. Radhakrishnan is the director of the
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.12,0:00:34.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Indian Space Research Organization.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.18,0:00:36.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was one of the engineers looking on when the Mangalyaan,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.84,0:00:39.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or "Mars craft" in Hindi, launched.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.33,0:00:42.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The probe will be studying the atmosphere of Mars,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.09,0:00:46.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and looking for traces of methane, which could be a sign of previous life.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.31,0:00:48.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,DR. RADHAKRISHNAN: A lot of things are known about Mars.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.44,0:00:53.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there are several issues which are yet to be understood, and understood precicely.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.64,0:00:57.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: The mission to Mars is a source of immense national pride in India,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.72,0:01:01.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it might also signal a new Asian space race, and it's already
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.15,0:01:04.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,triggered a debate about the benefits of exploring another planet,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.54,0:01:08.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when so many Indians struggle for basic necessities.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.36,0:01:12.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Though it has been in existence for nearly fifty years, the very fact that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.76,0:01:17.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,India has a space program is unknown to much of the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.16,0:01:20.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But since its inception, India has not only launched a mission to Mars,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.46,0:01:25.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but has sent a probe to the moon, and has built and launched 70 satellites
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.14,0:01:28.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that do everything from measuring water resources to enabling
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.27,0:01:32.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mobile communications in rural India.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.39,0:01:35.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Radhakrishnan says that at its heart, India's space program is meant
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.94,0:01:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to improve life for India's 1.2 billion people.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.08,0:01:44.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One critical mission is to predict where and when storms will hit land,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.61,0:01:48.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so people in the storm's path can be taken to safety.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.14,0:01:51.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1999, when a massive storm hit India's east coast,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.54,0:01:53.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more than 10,000 people died.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.85,0:01:57.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But a few months ago, when another powerful storm hit the same area,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.45,0:02:02.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only 21 people died. Nearly a million people had been evacuated
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.06,0:02:05.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after early warning data from Indian satellites.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.11,0:02:08.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Radhakrishnan: Part of this use of earth observation satellites is
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.26,0:02:12.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to provide services to the fisherman, to the farmer, to the decision-maker
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.71,0:02:14.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the grassroots level.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.89,0:02:17.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: So how does understanding the atmosphere of Mars,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.45,0:02:21.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or whether there was methane, help the farmer, or the fisherman in India?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.57,0:02:25.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Radhakrishnan: It is not directly; understanding of the atmosphere of Mars
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.01,0:02:27.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is not going to help him immediately, directly.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.86,0:02:30.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But he says technology from the Mars mission will help improve
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.46,0:02:34.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the satellites India has yet to launch, which will directly benefit
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.73,0:02:37.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ordinary Indian citizens.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.25,0:02:40.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But beyond the tangible scientific benefits, the feat of sending a rocket
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.85,0:02:44.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to Mars has been a huge point of pride for India.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.20,0:02:48.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As the Mars spacecraft left Earth's orbit, Indians took to Twitter
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.09,0:02:51.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to express their excitement, a point echoed by Dr. Radhakrishnan
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.81,0:02:54.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who says the mission has inspired the nation.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.37,0:02:56.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Radhakrishnan: People are keeping awake in the night to see
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.99,0:03:00.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how the Mars orbiter operations are progressing.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.66,0:03:05.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if you can transform so many young minds, and they say "yes, we need to
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.37,0:03:09.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take up a career in science," it is a big transformation
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.12,0:03:11.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the country, for the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.81,0:03:14.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And working for the space agency is prestigeous.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.81,0:03:19.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hundreds of thousands of engineers have applied for just a few hundred slots.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.41,0:03:24.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The pride is also in part for how little India spends to explore space.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.46,0:03:29.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Mars mission costs 4.5 billion rupees, or just over 70 million dollars.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.56,0:03:34.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Compare that to the Maven mission, a similar NASA probe that's also currently
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.15,0:03:38.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,en route to Mars. It costs nearly ten times as much.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.24,0:03:42.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The savings are achieved in part because engineering labor is cheaper.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.36,0:03:46.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Indian program recycles and adapts components like launch vehicles
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.31,0:03:52.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and builds far fewer models, relying heavily on computer testing.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.08,0:03:56.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But spending any money on space exploration here is controversial.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.61,0:04:00.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,India is still a developing country, where nearly a third of the population,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.55,0:04:05.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about 400 million people, live on less than $1.25 a day.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.78,0:04:09.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Brinda Adige runs an NGO called Global Concerns India,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.36,0:04:13.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,focused on women and children, here in a slum in the city of Bangalore,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.44,0:04:17.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,less than ten miles from the headquarters of the Indian Space Agency.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.32,0:04:20.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She says she was sad when she first heard about the Mars mission.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.82,0:04:26.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Adige: At one end of the spectrum, so much of money that is being spent
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.70,0:04:32.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to send a rocket out into outer space, when we know that here on Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.37,0:04:36.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in my country, there are children dying every day because they have no food
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.72,0:04:41.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to eat. So many more going away, spending their days and nights
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.66,0:04:47.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without electricity. No roads, no education, no protection for women
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.05,0:04:50.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the girl child, anywhere in this country.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.38,0:04:54.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: Do you think that, if they didn't spend the money on the satellite,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.45,0:04:57.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they would spend the money on women and girls' issues?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.13,0:04:59.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Adige: No, they would not. They would not.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.67,0:05:06.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their priorities are certainly not looking at women, children, human beings
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.30,0:05:11.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are in need of basic necessities just to live.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.16,0:05:14.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: So you're not against the science, just the priorities.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.94,0:05:16.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Adige: Yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.45,0:05:18.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: Adige gathered a group of women from the slum
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.94,0:05:24.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who echoed some of the same concerns.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.62,0:05:28.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I asked the group that, given the millions being spent on the mission to Mars,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.41,0:05:34.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what kind of impact additional money could have in this neighborhood.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.16,0:05:38.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They described a litany of issues including bad roads, lack of access
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.09,0:05:41.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to medical care, the high costs of education, and complaints about
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.96,0:05:45.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sanitation issues like sewage runoff after the rains
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.54,0:05:48.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a lack of safe drinking water.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.53,0:05:52.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of these women, Minoja, who works as a cook in a nicer part of town,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.26,0:05:54.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,took us to her mother-in-law's house, and showed us
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.84,0:05:58.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the contaminated water that comes out of her pipes.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.42,0:06:02.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Minoja [interpreted]: All of this water in the house smells terrible.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.43,0:06:06.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: It smelled rancid.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.46,0:06:09.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the municipal water the family pays for from the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.96,0:06:13.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They have to spend extra on trucked-in clean drinking water:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.44,0:06:15.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,money they don't have.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.28,0:06:18.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Dr. Radhakrishnan defends the Indian Space Program budget --
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.71,0:06:21.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in total, about a billion dollars a year.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.41,0:06:25.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: On a global level, India's program is incredibly inexpensive.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.58,0:06:30.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On a local level, it's still very hard for people to comprehend on the streets
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.62,0:06:35.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Bangalore or elsewhere, spending so much money going to a different planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.84,0:06:38.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Radhakrishnan: The question is in absolute terms when you talk about
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.74,0:06:45.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the $1 billion that we spend annually. Is it providing the benefits to the people?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.52,0:06:51.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Space is touching the lives of every man and woman in this country.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.69,0:06:55.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: Radhakrishnan points out that the entire Indian Space Program
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.15,0:06:59.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,accounts for one-third of one percent of the nation's budget.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.69,0:07:04.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those numbers may make it easier to justify what may be a larger goal:
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.02,0:07:06.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,competing with another superpower.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.76,0:07:10.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just last month, China became the third country behind the US
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.06,0:07:14.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the former Soviet Union to land a rover on the moon,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.01,0:07:17.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and China has successfully completed manned space flights,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.28,0:07:19.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a feat several years away for India.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.87,0:07:22.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in going to Mars, India could best its neighbor.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.98,0:07:27.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The competition is a fuel India is reluctant to admit.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.44,0:07:32.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In November 2011, a joint Chinese-Russian Mars mission failed.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:32.77,0:07:38.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: Is there political pressure to keep up with the next-door-neighbor, China?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.96,0:07:42.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Radhakrishnan: Each country has their own priorities,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.39,0:07:44.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their own vision for the space program.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.98,0:07:47.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,India has its vision, China has its vision.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.59,0:07:49.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are pursuing our vision.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.52,0:07:52.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: It doesn't matter when China does what it does?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.16,0:07:54.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Radhakrishnan: It does its program, we do our program.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.82,0:08:00.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: But it was right after China's failure that the Prime Minister here said,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.08,0:08:02.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Here's our priority, we're going to Mars."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.27,0:08:06.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dr. Radhakrishnan: See, November 2013 is an opportune time for
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.80,0:08:12.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a mission to Mars. And such opportune time occurs only once in 26 months.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.35,0:08:15.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: While the Indian launch date did capitalize on when the distance
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.66,0:08:19.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between Mars and the earth is shorter, to critics like Brinda Adige,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.32,0:08:21.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is simply a space race.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.54,0:08:24.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Adige: You've gone to Mars, now I also have to go to Mars.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.18,0:08:27.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've reached moon? I must also go and see whether there's water
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.28,0:08:30.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on moon or not. Whether my people down here in this country have
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.54,0:08:32.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,drinking water or not, is a quandry.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.65,0:08:36.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The question arises, "To what end?"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.75,0:08:39.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,NewsHour: To administrators like Dr. Radhakrishnan, success with
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.62,0:08:43.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Mars mission is another step in helping the world see the red planet,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.88,0:08:46.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and India, in a new way.