An emergency tire puja before going to space!

 

 

 

Dr. Matthew Joyce, Las Vegas

There is a Malayali custom, where you suddenly stop your car on the way and run away and urinate! (The only thing similar to this is dogs, which "urine pass" on trees or roadsides, it is said, to smell the way back).

Imagine you are an astronaut. You are about to fly into the sky in a rocket from the famous Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Finally, the big day has arrived! You put on your heavy spacesuit and board a bus from the Cosmonaut Hotel to the launch pad. The journey is only twenty minutes. But before you get on the rocket, the scientists there will say to you: 'Hey Anil, go to the right rear wheel of that bus and urinate!'

It may sound funny, but there is a 'sacred' Soviet tradition behind this that has been passed down since 1961!

The founder of this strange custom is the Russian hero Yuri Gagarin, the first person to go into space.

Although it may sound a little comical when you hear it, there is a great history behind it.

The beginning of the story: that 'historical' moment

That golden moment was on April 12, 1961. Russia's famous explorer Yuri Gagarin was on his way to the Baikonur Cosmodrome by bus for the historic 'Vostok 1' mission. Suddenly, the guy got a call from nature. Since there was no other way, he told him to stop the bus, so he got out and aimed at the right rear wheel of the bus and succeeded.

Anyway, the mission was a huge success! The rest of the people thought: 'Ah, so this is the secret to success!' Thus, that single 'urine spill' later became the biggest superstition in the space world.

Even today, everyone who travels in a Russian Soyuz rocket (even if it is American) must stop the bus on this route and observe the ritual.

The male lions, after getting off the bus, will appear directly in front of the tire with their helpers to undo the intricate zips and hooks of the space suit.

Although the female tigers are exempt from this open platform, to express solidarity, they will come with a bottle of their own urine and pour it into the tire to complete the 'pooja'!

Why this wasteful work?

Even though they are handling technology worth crores of rupees, peace of mind is needed, surely! One of their psychological moves is that if they follow the path shown by Gagarin, there will be no accident.

Moreover, it is common sense to empty your 'bladder' before having to be strapped motionless to the seat of the rocket for hours. In short, wetting your tires before going into space is now an international custom!

Tailpiece: All the best and good luck to our Anil Menon and team!