India’s ambitious indigenous manned space mission, Gaganyaan, and the rare Kashmir Stag found in the valley of Jammu and Kashmir, are examples of India’s unique initiatives in space exploration and wildlife conservation. While Gaganyaan aims to propel India into an elite group of nations that have sent humans into space, efforts are also being made to save the critically endangered Kashmir Stag, locally known as Hangul.
Gaganyaan: A historical step in Indian Space Exploration
The Union Cabinet has sanctioned the Gaganyaan project aiming to put a three-member crew in space for at least seven days. The testing phase of this mission is slated to start from December 2020, with the main mission planned for 2022. This becomes a significant milestone as it could elevate India into a niche league of countries – namely the US, Russia, and China – that have successfully dispatched manned missions to outer space.
In October 2018, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi, a Memorandum of Understanding was inked between ISRO, India’s space agency, and the Federal Space Agency of Russia, ROSCOSMOS. This agreement is focused on collaborative activities within the sphere of the human spaceflight programme, thus advancing the objectives of the Gaganyaan mission.
Quick Facts about the Gaganyaan mission
| Mission Name | Launch Date | Testing Phase Start | Duration of Stay in Space |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaganyaan | 2022 | December 2020 | Min. Seven Days |
Kashmir Stag: Protecting the Hangul
Moving from space to earth’s bounty, let’s talk about the Kashmir Stag. This stag, locally identified as Hangul, is a subspecies of the European red deer that is indigenous to Kashmir. Interestingly, it is the only subspecies of red deer in India and is the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir.
The first identification of this species was made by Alferd Wagner back in 1844. It’s believed that these animals journeyed from Bukhara in Central Asia all the way to Kashmir. Currently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) labels this animal species ‘Critically Endangered’.
The Dachigam National Park, located near Srinagar, is regarded as the final untouched habitat of the Hangul. Unfortunately, this species faces various challenges such as poaching, threats arising from insurgency, and the ongoing border conflict between India and Pakistan. The need of the hour is concerted efforts and initiatives to protect this rare and majestic creature from sliding towards extinction.
