As for the retreat into exile, the other central theme in both epics, this is taken to indicate the process by which clan society resolved its conflicts and at the same time encroached ever deeper into the subcontinent. Eventually population pressures on land and other resources would encourage greater social specialisation and he assertion of a central authority, two of the prerequisites of a state. But during the first centuries of the first millennium BC, these same pressures seem merely to have encouraged a traditional solution whereby clans segmented and split away to explore new territories. [emphasis added]

In the context of the chapter, he is taking a common thread of the two epics (the exile in the wilderness of their respective protagonists) as a hint as to how the ?r?an colonists gradually spread to the east and south from the Indus Valley.

What struck me as interesting is that much the same thing could happen with space settlement, especially given some TBD mode of practical interstellar travel.

In the near term (say, the next 100 years), if efforts to commercialize space access pan out and we begin building colonies in space, on the Moon, and on Mars, we will have established a new “wilderness” in the sense Keay describes elsewhere in the chapter: an untamed space where danger may lurk away from the safety of established civilization, but where the freedom exists to build afresh. The process of settlement and ongoing development will due to resource and labor shortages limit the degree to which a central authority can be asserted, providing a breathing space for innovation between the continuously expanding frontier and the expanding boundary of civilization trailing behind it. Political or social conflicts unresolvable in the civilized regions can be defused through one or another party choosing to escape to the freedom of this breathing space or the wilderness beyond, thereby pushing the frontier further outward — versus being kept bottled up in a finite arena where the intractability of the disagreements and the inescapable proximity of the conflicting parties can foster discontent, unrest, and violence lasting generations.

In practice, this might mean expanding to lunar colonies as near-Earth orbital habitats become too regulated or restricted by Earth governments or international treaties. On the Moon, disaffected individuals or groups frustrated with their circumstances in an existing settlement might decide to start their own settlements on or beyond the fringes of areas already settled or explored. As the lunar frontier ‘closes’ due to Keay’s “social specialization and assertion of central authority”, similarly frustrated settlers might decide to try their fortunes on the martian frontier, then among the asteroids, and so on through increasingly less-desirable properties.

It’s not like this hasn’t happened already, in our own history. The story of the Plymouth Rock Pilgrims, the Mormon migrations to Utah, and the “Go west, young man” ethos of the Old West were clearly manifestations of this same concept.

In the longer term, given some means of practical interstellar travel, this process of expansion-by-exile into the wilderness could happen on a vastly larger scale. If this turns out to be true, the ‘wilderness’ becomes effectively infinite.

Of course, this depends on a conservative view that we will continue to be recognizably human over such long time scales, as the development of new frontiers will likely result in an acceleration of technological innovation – including ‘transhuman’ technology like cognitive enhancements, targeted genetic improvements, or even ‘uploading’ into non-biological (or who knows, even non-physical) forms. What makes the expansion-by-exile concept useful for science fiction is that it can avoid the trap of having to tell a story from the difficult-to-conceive perspective of these transhumans by giving an author the choice among worlds on a spectrum of development — after all, given the Amish as a present-day example, it’s not difficult to imagine that some of those irreconcilable differences that might drive settlers into exile in the wilderness would concern the adoption of certain transhuman technologies, resulting in worlds (whether at the center or the periphery of civilization) whose inhabitants are still relatably human.

India’s space agency ended an $82 million mission to map the surface of the moon after failing to restore contact with its unmanned Chandrayaan I craft.

Contact was lost with the probe two days ago and scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation were unable to restore communications, said S.K. Shivkumar, the director of the ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network. The craft began orbiting the moon last November…

“We survived for 315 days which is a good record. Many such experiments have burnt within a month in the past,” state- run broadcaster Doordarshan cited ISRO chief Madhavan Nair as saying yesterday.

315 days.  Darned good for newcomers.

Developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of Thiruvananthapuram, the primary objective of MIP is to demonstrate the technologies required for landing a probe at the desired location on the moon.

The probe will help qualify some of the technologies related to future soft landing missions. This apart, scientific exploration of the moon at close distance is also intended using MIP.

During its 20-minute descent to the moon’s surface, MIP took pictures and transmitted them back to the ground. The first pictures are expected to be made public on Saturday…

The MIP consists of a C-band Radar Altimeter for continuous measurement of altitude of the probe, a video imaging system for acquiring images of the surface of moon from the descending probe and a mass spectrometer for measuring the constituents of extremely thin lunar atmosphere during its 20-minute descent to the lunar surface.

The MIP withstood the impact of a hardlanding after it hit the lunar surface.

Interesting that it appears to have survived the impact of the hard landing. Should be fun to see the pictures on Saturday.

And all this for only $78M. Hard to believe.

The ISRO chairman said the Indian space agency is not shying away from manned mission to the moon.

“It’s not a question of shying away. Whether we need it (manned mission to moon) immediately or not; that debate is going on. Opinion is truly divided. Some people believe the instruments themselves are more than adequate. Robots can do the job and so on. A few others believe it (manned mission) is a national pride and we should do it. We are also subjecting this for an internal review as well as in various professional bodies. Maybe in the course of a year, we will have better clarity on that (whether or not India should go for a manned mission),” he said.
“If we decide to do such a job, yes, we will gear up for facing such a challenge,” he said.

And also, apparently, dealing with the same sort of robots über alles arguments heard from some quarters in the US.

ISRO has an important mission ‘Chandrayaan’, planned during 2007-08 for planetary exploration. The mission will not only map the lunar surface, but also find presence of minerals and water on the moon. Besides, the aim is also to look for helium-3 which will help satisfy India’s fuel needs.

He said the moon mission will form a major stepping stone in the efforts of ISRO and the nation as a whole towards launching a probe into a 100 km polar orbit around the moon using PSLV. The missions involving travel to very distant planets, wherein the time to reach is going to be of the order of months using conventional rocket propulsion systems, may call for the use of alternate systems, like electric and nuclear propulsion, he said.

Meanwhile, New Horizons’ launch has been postponed until Wednesday afternoon due to high winds.

An asteroid flying several thousand miles away from Earth, currently located between Mars and Jupiter, has been named after 18-yearold Mumbaikar Bhushan Mahadik.

The asteroid was christened after him by the prestigious Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, which has played a key role in the development of space technology…

The laboratory named the asteroid after Bhushan in recognition of his achievement as a finalist in the 2003 Intel International Science Engineering Fare held in Ohio in 2003. The focus of his research was ‘synthesis of carbon nanotubes’.

Bhushan passed out of Father Agnel Junior College, Navi Mumbai, in 2004. Now, he is doing his undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at the University of California in Berkley.

Or continue succeeding, in this case. (“Synthesis of carbon nanotubes”??? That’s an impressive science fair project, but then science fairs just ain’t what they used to be.)

But what the heck is this all about?

He was selected by Isro and Nasa to participate in the ‘Red Rovers Goes to Mars’ programme in 2002. At Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Bhushan was trained to operate the Martian rovers in a simulated environment. Mars Society president Robert Zubrin has allotted Bhushan an acre of land on the Red Planet.

How generous!

Giving a boost to the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) ambitious programme to idigenously develop Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV), the Centre recently gave clearance for a technology demonstrator, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

…Mr Nair said the detailed design work for the technology demonstrator had already started.
The RLV technology demonstrator, expected to be ready within three to four years, would be the first step for ISRO to ultimately build its own RLVs, which could bring down the cost of launching satellites by as much as 60 per cent.
The Indian Space Research Organisation would have to work on a number of cutting edge technologies, including those related to hyper-sonic speeds and thermal protection, to perfect the technology demonstrator, Mr Nair said.

Having several botched U.S. RLV programs to learn from should make it somewhat easier, though, eh?

India’s space agency is ready to send a man into space within seven years if the government gives the nod, while preparations have already begun for the launching of an unmanned lunar mission, a top official said Sunday…

Nair said “a lot of debate” had to take place in India before a final decision is made on a manned space flight.

“The benefits and the costs involved have to be examined,” he said. “Various facilities and equipment such as a space capsule for human habitation, shielding, control and safety features have to be built. A large amount of funding is required.”

More on the same theme: IAF, ISRO discuss plans for manned space mission

“The propellant in the segment caught fire and caused severe damage to the building, in which the operations were going on,” Dar said. The plant makes all the solid fuel needed for rocket boosters.

Dar said the accident would not have any adverse impact on ISRO’s launch programs, as the fuel segment that exploded was a test propellant and not part of any program.

He seems to be contradicting himself there…if it’s the facility where all solid motor fuel is made, how can it not have an adverse impact on ISRO’s launch programs, given the substantial use of solids on PSLV and (to lesser extent) on GSLV?