The Mission and the Mangoes is a work of fiction that sets its premise around a dystopic, water-starved Earth where unrestrained mining, drilling and the exhaustion of earth’s resources is rendering the planet unlivable. The young author of the book, 12-year-old Hena Parveen, tries to marry a futuristic setting where technological advancements such as humanoid robots and regular space exploration are a reality, with the Earth’s ecosystem that is hurtling towards an inevitable collapse. Interestingly, all this does not take place in a far-fetched future...
Space debris or human-made junk in space is increasing at a rapid pace. According to an estimate by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, US, there are more than 10 crore objects in space, ranging from less than 1 cm to 10 cm. Did we think of the junk we would create before leaping into the space age?