INDIA CAN HELP SA GAIN
FOOTHOLD IN SPACE
THE Bangalore Palace in the Indian state of Karnataka stands as a stark reminder of a bygone era – a time of great splendour and luxury for a few.
It was built about 150 years ago for the child king Chamarajendra Wadiyar X. His lineage went back centuries. As the 23rd Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore, he reigned between 1868 and 1894.
No expense was spared when the palace was built. The opulence remains visible even today, although now, it is interspersed with leaking roofs and peeling paint.
What changed the fortunes of the maharajas was India’s independence from Britain in 1947.
With democracy came principles such as the equality of all men and women. And so, grants that royalty were once entitled to, became a trickle and then dried up.
Most of India’s royalty lacked the means or skills to make a living. The world had changed and they had failed to keep up with the times.
Today, the dynamics are once again changing and you don’t have to travel too far from the Bangalore Palace to see our future.
In this era, everything is smart – smart cars, smart homes, smart cities – and comes with the 2.0 tag line to denote a version superior to the original.
There’s money 2.0 to denote a cashless society. Food 2.0 to describe a future with improved food production. Democracy 2.0 with better election systems. And then, there is human 2.0 which translates to more advanced health care.
But the scenario planning does not end there. There is also talk of artificial super intelligence (when computers can do more than humans can), de-extinction (when we can bring back species that have become extinct) and radical life extension (the science of anti-ageing).
People like Kritika Murugesan are constantly thinking about the future and how technology can improve human lives.
“Technology will change a lot,” she said. “Unless people evolve and adapt, it will become difficult for them to find jobs.”
Murugesan is a director at Nasscom, the National Association of Software and Services Companies.
In 2013, it launched an initiative called 10 000 Start-ups, aimed at entrepreneurs in the technology sector. It set itself a period of 10 years to help create that number of start-ups and, according to Murugesan, it is on track to meet its goals.
But the future is not just confined to Planet Earth. There is an undeclared race to conquer our solar system and, thereafter, deep space.
It got off the starting blocks in 1961, when the Russian, Yuri Gagarin, became the first human to travel into space. In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the moon. And only a few weeks ago, China accomplished another first when it landed a probe on the dark side of the moon.
The Indians also have a decorated space programme. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) was started in the early 1960s from a small church in the state of Kerala.
In the 1980s, the Indians developed a communication satellite called APPLE, and used ox-wagons to transport it during the developmental and testing phase.
Since those humble beginnings, Isro has put 269 satellites in space using home-made rockets.
India plans to put a man on the moon by 2022, with plans to thereafter explore Mars and Venus.
It acknowledges that the future of man is in space but emphasise that its vision is purely altruistic: “Harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration.”
By contrast, South Africa’s space programme (yes, we do have one) is modest. We were the first on the continent to launch a satellite, although in recent years Ghana, Nigeria and Angola have also put satellites in space.
However, none of us Africans have the ability to launch satellites ourselves, and the chances of that happening in the near future are slim given the huge costs involved.
It is a worrying situation because space is the future. Those countries that get there first will reap the benefits. The rest will suffer a bleak future on a dying planet.
If anyone understands the pitfalls that come with being “discovered” rather than being the discoverer, it is Africa. What the continent needs is a strategic partner that can help us get a foothold in space.
India represents our best bet given the historic bonds between Africa and India, as well as the special bond between South Africa and India.
This special bond was rejuvenated recently when President Cyril Ramaphosa attended India’s Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest.
There was much talk about how both countries could take their relationship to a higher level figuratively but there must be more talk around literally doing so.
Our education system also needs to be overhauled to prepare our children for this future. It is a system that should be centred around STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The future is upon us and we need to adapt quickly. A failure to do so will leave us like the maharajas of India – relics of a bygone era. Bramdeo is the editor of Sunday Tribune. He was a guest of the Indian government during their 70th Republic Day celebrations.