To Infinity and Beyond | New Delhi in the Age of the Space Race

While the Space Race between the US and USSR began in the 60s, India sent Rakesh Sharma to space in the 1980s. Here's a closer look at this period between the two decades from the lens of New Delhi.

A Midjourney Imagination of the Qutub Minar as a Space Rocket

An arterial road that connects Delhi's India Gate to Mandi House, the hub for arts and theatre in Delhi, was known as 'Lytton Road', named after Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India between 1876 to 1880. However, in the 60s, former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh requested Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to change it to Copernicus Marg - a name that still stands today.

Another lane that emerges out of the Copernicus Marg connects it with Kasturba Gandhi Marg, an important road that connects Connaught Place to India Gate.

Nicholaus Copernicus, among other things, was known for proposing the theory that despite popular belief, the Earth was not in the center of the universe, and that the planets revolved around the sun.

It was quite a revolutionary idea at the time and something that he (and later Galileo), faced quite a backlash from the Church. The renaming of Lytton Road to Copernicus Marg was perhaps an expression of what India's first Prime Minister used to call the 'scientific temper' of the newly independent nation.

Natwar Singh, who proposed the road's name to be changed, was also present at the meeting between Indira Gandhi and Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon! Natwar Singh told Armstrong that the Prime Minister was up until 4:30 in the morning to watch the moon landing. To this, Armstrong replied with an apology, saying that he will ensure that this doesn't happen at such an "unearthly hour" the next time.

This meeting took place when Armstrong was touring New Delhi as a part of his "goodwill tour" after the moon landing, where he and his fellow astronauts traveled across countries on President Nixon's insistence as a display of America's soft power and their excellence in the space race.

However, while Neil Armstrong has passed away, and the moon landing is over 50 years behind us, there lives a piece of moon landing history well preserved in a Delhi museum:

The Air Force Museum in Delhi's Palam area houses a replica of the Lunar Module. This was introduced on the 14th of July, 1969, exactly on this date, 54 years ago, as a part of an exhibition conducted by the US Information Service (USIS) in Delhi. As per TOI's description, "The 23-foot model rests on a simulated moonscape. With flickering lights and a swinging antenna, the model is exact in every exterior detail. It was built by Indian craftsmen in New Delhi."

The Space Race started between the US and USSR, and the USSR scored an upper hand when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. A memorabilia of this achievement also houses itself in the Rashtrapati Bhawan Museum, as a gift from the USSR to India - a vase with the portrait of Yuri Gagarin. Around the same time, the Russians also gifted Indian President Zakir Hussain with a vase with his face on it.

Moving from the space program to one half of the 'Rocket Boys', Homi Bhabha, during his time in Delhi, used to love spending time near the city's monuments. Be it Hauz Khas, Lodi Garden, or Purana Qila, Bhabha loved the monuments and was worried about PWD architects and "tasteless bureaucrats" not doing much to preserve the city's heritage. Bhabha, who also liked to paint on occasion, made watercolor paintings of Purana Qila and Mughal Gardens, as Bakhtiar Dadabhoy points out in his book 'Home J Bhabha: A Life'

Bhabha was known to be close to Nehru, and Nehru himself possessed quite the aforementioned "scientific temper", which is why, after his passing the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund undertook the task of building 5 Nehru Planetariums across the country.

The one in Delhi is actually built inside the Teen Murti Bhawan, his residence. While the IAF Museum houses the Lunar Module that took Armstrong to the moon, the Soyuz T-10 which took Rakesh Sharma to space is housed at the Nehru Planetarium. His Space Suit is also on display at the museum.

On a concluding note, while he was in space, Rakesh Sharma and the Russian crew he was with, spotted a forest fire in Burma, which was quickly reported to the authorities. Since they were at the highest vantage point possible, they knew of it even before the Burmese government!

As Chandrayaan 3 takes off today, it is an interesting time to reflect upon this connection between New Delhi and the Moon!