Slashdot Mirror
India Plans Moon Mission In 2005
ghoul writes: "I just came across this article in which the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced plans for a moon mission. Considering that till now India has only launched geo-synchronous satellites, that's a big leap. But ISRO scientists claim by using a lightweight orbital vehicle they can use their existing PSLV (which launches 1-tonne missions into polar orbit) to send an orbiter to the moon.
The full article is available at India Today ." (No, not a manned mission, at least not yet.)
Its about time the US got some competition in the space arena
Duh ? Ever heard of the Russians ? The French ? They both have very good space infrastructure - hell, the French even have a bigger market share than the US in term of commercial space launch ! The Russians have always been better than Nasa for manned missions (you can laugh at Mir problems, yet it did more than Nasa ever did). Even the Japanese and Chinese have some kind of space industry (yet quite small right now). The US always had some competition in the space industry, from the first Spoutnik to the modern Ariane V.
This is not an article about a planned moon mission, this is an article about a planned proposal for a moon mission.
In the next six months the team will wrestle with the details of launching such a mission, including its cost-effectiveness and the areas in which Indian scientists can significantly add to the mountain of knowledge that has already been collected about the moon. It will form the basis of a project report that ISRO will submit to the Central Government for approval
They have no funding, no governmental support, no scientific sponsors and no plan. Hey if all you need is a "desire" to get press, hell, I'm planning a mission to mars!
In the next six months my team will wrestle with the details of launching such a mission, including its cost-effectiveness and the areas in which /. wannabe scientists can significantly add to the mountain of knowledge that has already been collected about the Mars. It will form the basis of a project report that 348 will submit to the Slashdot submission queue for approval.
More race stuff in one place,
than any one place on the net.
Um, no. A crore is 100 lakh and a lakh is 100 000. So the estimated cost is 3.5 x 10^10 rupees, which is about $10^9.
This is either very cheap for a manned mission or very expensive for a probe.
Sure, NASA's budget may look massive by the standards of ONE INDIVIDUAL. But try comparing it to any of the MANY money pits the US dumps dollars into... and it's a (tiny) drop in the bucket.
Compare it to the money dumped into social security every year (thanks HEAPS.. F-ing FDR)
Compare it to the money dumped into national debt intrest every year (thanks HEAPS.. F-ing congress)
Sorry, but If *I* were appointed "budget root" and tasked with cutting wasteful government fat, NASA'd be nowhere NEAR the top of the list. In fact, it'd prolly get a budget INCREASE, even AFTER a tax cut, AND a faster repayment schedule for the national debt.
Want all of the gory details of where money is wasted? Go to:
http://w3.access.gpo.gov/usbudget/
john
Resistance is NOT futile!!!
Haiku:
I am not a drone.
Remove the collective if
Imagine all the people...
From 1999 Country Reports on Economic Policy and Trade Practices:
India:
Labor Force (millions) 420.0
Unemployment Rate (pct)22.5
So compared to the US, things are all well and good... and that goes for the 1960s as well as now.
In the "new economy" India has an opportunity to cash in on the vast resource of mental power that their population provides, transforming the liability of overpopulation into the asset of a highly skilled work force.
Building nukes may help a little, going to the moon may help a lot, but either way, they have a long way to go before misery and the assault on human dignity ends in India.
And yes, that is even in comparison to the U.S., home of Waco, Ruby Ridge, the Simpson murders, and (the horror, the horror) Kiddieland in San Antonio, TX.
It's history repeating itself. If you consider the political climate in India and the cold war they are caught in with Pakistan, the situation closely mirrors the one between the US and USSR in the late 60's. India has detonated it's first H-bomb in the past two years, and Pakistan still reserves the right to do the same. Both countries are scared of China, which is also engaged in an effort to build a nuclear arsenal. That region of the world is de-stabilizing. India needs to show they are technologically superior. Given the right incentive, you may see the Indian government get on board with this moon mission.
We went to the moon for the very same reasons.