Mission Mangal 2019

After the unsuccessful launch of GSLV-F06 on December 25, 2010, a small misstep by Tara Shinde, portrayed by Vidya Balan, leads her colleague, Rakesh Dhawan (played by Akshay Kumar), to take the fall for her mistake, resulting in his reassignment to work on Mangalyaan as a punishment. This ambitious Mars Orbiter Mission (MoM) is deemed an impossible feat by his peers, primarily due to its tight budget.

The project gains the guidance of Rupert Desai, an ex-NASA director hired by ISRO to provide strategic consulting. Rupert suggests borrowing technology from NASA, but Rakesh firmly opposes this idea, advocating for a “Make in India” approach. The ISRO director, played by Vikram Gokhale, considers Rakesh’s vision seriously.

On the home front, Tara’s husband, Sunil Shinde, is not the most supportive spouse, adding to her struggles as she attempts to balance her career with family expectations. As Tara transitions to a more competent team, Rakesh encounters a significant challenge—MoM cannot launch on PSLV due to its payload capacity of only 1,500 kg, whereas GSLV could have accommodated the necessary 2,300 kg. Recent failures of GSLV cast further doubt on the future of the mission.

During a domestic moment, while frying ‘Purīs’, Tara’s maid mentions the gas running low, prompting Tara to devise a clever plan to use PSLV to accomplish the mission. With renewed enthusiasm, she approaches Rakesh with her idea. Initially skeptical, he soon brings their team onboard, despite facing initial ridicule. Subsequently, the ISRO Director supports Rakesh’s vision and directs Rupert to assemble their team, but Rupert assigns them mostly inexperienced recruits.

Among the newcomers is Eka Gandhi, the propulsion control expert, who harbors disdain for Indian projects and dreams of joining NASA. Neha Siddiqui, the spacecraft autonomy designer, grapples with societal rejection stemming from her inter-communal background, while Krittika Agarwal, the navigation specialist, dedicates her efforts to supporting her wounded husband, Rishi.

Then there’s Varsha Pillai, the satellite designer who faces pressure from her mother-in-law for not becoming a mother herself, and Parmeshwar Naidu, the payload specialist who, despite his superstitious beliefs about marriage, chooses to persist with the Martian mission, infatuated with Eka.

However, the announcement of India’s second Moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, brings an unexpected budget cut of 50%, leaving just 400 Crores for their project. Amid the constraints of a tight schedule and limited funds, Rakesh and Tara navigate challenges, making significant compromises while incorporating experienced specialists to bolster their young team. They innovate by reducing the satellite’s weight using a plastic aluminum composite and are thrilled when Eka finds a way to adjust their mission parameters, allowing them to carry 850 kg of fuel, leading her to forgo her NASA application.

In a stroke of cost-saving genius, Tara proposes utilizing equipment from the delayed Chandrayaan-2 project to further minimize MoM’s expenses. The culmination of their hard work and determination pays off when the Mangalyaan satellite is successfully launched on November 5, 2013, marking a significant achievement for the team. After an impressive 298-day journey, the satellite enters Mars’ orbit on September 24, 2014, making India the fourth nation to ever achieve such a milestone and the first to do so on its first attempt—an inspiring triumph against all odds.