Slashdot Mirror
Robot for India's Moon Mission by IIT Kanpur
ISRO, Indian Space Research Organisation, is planning to send a robot for its mission to moon. It is probably going to be made by students and profs of IIT-Kanpur (the Indian equivalent of MIT). The two-legged robot, fitted with sophisticated sensors and high-resolution cameras, is capable of recording information and images using laser beams. It can also detect the distance of a hindrance, enter a small crater, bring surface samples and return high resolution images to the lunar vehicle. It balances cost and sophistication; basic functionality for only $50,000.
This article reminds me of the same hype we heard before the Europeans' Beagle 2 landed on Mars. What a bargin it was, how they would show NASA how it's done, etc. Except no signal was ever detected from Beagle 2, while Spirit and Opportunity are still going strong. Yea, they really showed NASA.
Mostly, the referenced article sounds like wishful thinking.
Just to repeat what has been said many times since the IIT PR extravaganza began a few years ago: the basic reason this comparison sounds stupid and embarrassing even to most people inside the IIT system is that these institutions are not modeled as research unversities at all!
They are primarily colleges for undergraduate engineering education. Having done a reasonable job at that mandated task for the last half century or so, they are just beginning to build graduate programs and research capabilities needed to support them.
The MIT comparisons are some deluded bureaucrat's PR idea which the media have of course lapped up and sadly, as it seems from the original article that atleast some insiders too are falling for it.