*THREAD*
India also has the potential to do it, however, it's very unlikely because of several reasons. If we want it, @PMOIndia, @narendramodi, and @isrohave to pay immediate attention to some areas (Don't worry, I will not blabber on technical expertise, they have it better) https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1266835904435499009

First of all ISRO needs to up its PR game. It needs better coverage, A LOT BETTER than its current coverage standards. Whether you want to accept it or not, it matters! You need to give it a human touch.

ISRO is leading some great scientific advancements for the country, as well as for humanity and they need to be presented like that. There are always some great stories. Inspire innovation by actually presenting the process.

Leave alone giving a glimpse of astronaut training, they haven't even declared names yet, for Gaganyaan. Compare this with NASA's approach, where it is declared (for any mission), months in advance, in most cases, as soon as its decided. This is all a part of the PR game!

The pre-launch coverage of Falcon 9 was so good, that earlier I had decided to set an alarm and watch the launch only. However, once I began watching the coverage, I couldn't shut it off to sleep.

With the detailed information and the engagement of audience, the enthusiasm, it was not a one day thing in the coverage. It was slowly built up over weeks.

If we compare it with our launches, what we mostly get to see is the faces of senior ISRO officials in the control room & some cutways of scientists staring at their screens (who are an important part of it of course but not very interesting to be repetitive in the same coverage)

During Chandrayaan-2 launch, ISRO did make some good videos but there were some errors in some of those animations, for eg, as soon as the booster engines separated, engine fired off, in the actual flight, Vikas engine is switched on mid-flight, after which side boosters separate

There were no separation motors on them in the animation. There were basic physics mistakes like the direction of the separated fairings. Clearly, it wasn't made by a person who has the basic knowledge of physics and relative motion, let alone a scientist

However, since ISRO has (presumably) paid for it, they have got to hold them accountable & not put it on their social media handles. Basically, PR plays a very important role & it's not just to highlight achievements, but also to inspire others into playing a part in future.

While we are talking about social media handles, there is something that needs to be addressed immediately
To be fair, we did make a dedicated social media handle for Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), however, despite the spacecraft still being active and sending images...(cont)

(cont.)... and other data, the account lies inactive/dead. MOM was a huge achievement, but we never capitalized on it. and Don't even get me started on the movie.