After Successful Launch, India's Mars Orbiter Is On Its Way

neo12 writes "India has successfully launched a spacecraft to the Red Planet — with the aim of becoming the fourth space agency to reach Mars." As our previous mention of the launch notes, getting to Mars by rocket is a long haul: if all goes well, it will be about 10 months until Mangalyaan reaches orbit.

Comments

0.37% of India's total budget

[Anonymous Coward]

That is the cost of India's entire space program. The Mars mission is obviously a much smaller percentage of that. So, to the inevitable critics about how poor India should not be investing on a space program, 0.37% of the total budget will not solve poverty problems. Rather, it benefits India more than being a drag on the economy.

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[Anonymous Coward]

Please describe these benefits.

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[RaceProUK]

PR stunt that leads to being paid to launch commercial satellites at cheaper rates than the US/EU/Russian alternatives. As their market share grows, the profit increases, and that can be invested in the country itself, either directly or via tax on employees' wages.

That's one possibility anyway.

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[gstoddart]

It puts India on the list of space-capable countries instead of a tech support jobs stealing country?

India isn't stealing anything. It's your corporate overlords who are moving the jobs away to be done more cheaply.

Don't blame India for that.

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[alexander_686]

Basic Science.

People have tried to quantify the benefits of basic science but have largely failed – but that does not mean it is not important. By pushing the boundaries of knowledge two things happen. One is the development of elite intuitions which tend to churn out more scientists who tend to go on and do other, different, interesting things. The other is that they stumble onto new weird things which have other applications.

People have tried to quantify the benefits of basic science but have largely failed – but that does not mean it is not important. The spillover effects are hard to measure. There tends to be a long lag time between new discoveries and everyday applications.

Now, off hand, I would think something in genetics or biology would have a bigger impact then space but that is just my 2 cents.

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[gstoddart]

you could blame india for the horrendus poverty levels that enable an american corporation to pay slave like wages to india and be considered a salvation

I certainly can't blame then for wanting to fix it. And since America also has horrendous poverty levels in some places ... I wouldn't recommend falling off that moral high ground.

But I can blame corporations for what they do -- if an American corporation wants to cut American jobs so they can be done cheaply elsewhere, why would Americans keep buying from them? Loyalty? Pride? Stupidity?

Americans are fond of talking about 'the market' -- this is just that. For better or worse, this is the globalization everyone has been crowing about for years, and is pretty much exactly what we've been told to expect.

Someone is willing to do it cheaper than you are -- and the race to the bottom continues.

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[MightyMartian]

Basic research is the cornerstone of pretty much all technological developments of the last two centuries. Do you seriously imagine that our materials technologies would be anywhere near where they are now without basic research into chemistry and physics?

Let me guess, you're one of those people who thinks that all development is just a series of Eureka! moments.

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[gsslay]

So you're blaming India for being poorer than America, with lower wages, lower standard of living and lower costs of living? Interesting spin on things. Damn you, poor person. Just quit being poor already! Why can't you demand a bigger wage, with bigger houses, cars and TVs, like the rest of us?

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[petes_PoV]

if an American corporation wants to cut American jobs so they can be done cheaply elsewhere, why would Americans keep buying from them? Loyalty? Pride? Stupidity?

No, none of the above (although that doesn't preclude people from having those qualities). Americans buy from companies that offshore (american) jobs because those companies have lower prices as a result.

You must realise that patriotism comes in a very poor second when the alternative is 5 cents off.

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

First of all, American poverty doesn't compare to Indian poverty. Anyone would give an important body part to be upgraded from Indian poverty to American Poverty.

Second of All, consumers usually act in their own immediate self interest when making a purchasing decision. Where a product was made does not usually factor into that.

Beleive it or not, its not a zero sum game. There are winners and losers, and the profits of the winners seem to be rather concentrated.

Re:0.37% of India's total budget

[Anonymous Coward]

That's true; immigration fraud is not the same thing as stealing.

Right. Greedy douchebag corporation skirts around rules to act like greedy douchebag corporation ... following the template well established by greedy douchebag American corporations. Film at 11.

Sorry, but America perfected this particular kind of capitalism. That they're now victim to is is neither surprising, nor sympathy inducing.

Re:Allow me to be the first to say ...

[gstoddart]

So, what have you to say for yourselves, space cowboys of India?

India has a population of over 1.2 billion people. There will always be other things to spend money on. This gives India both technology, future industry, and hopefully something to make the next generation of Indian rocket scientists happen.

You can't stagnate a country until you've mopped up everything else -- because you'd never be done. This was done for something like under $75 million dollars -- it's not like that would have completely alleviated the problems. It likely wouldn't even put a dent in them.

Find me one single country which has solved all of their problems before also focusing on other things. The reality is, you can't, and all countries need to do more than one thing.

Just because they Indians they cant do it right?

[Anonymous Coward]

The amount of racism in some of these posts disgust me.

Good Lord!

[kaatochacha]

Can't anyone just say "Good Job India, well done, best of luck on your launch and let's hope everything goes OK, welcome to the club"?
Slashdot is the last place I'd expect huge amounts of "Well, if we can't fix all our problem on Earth, we should never go into space".
Because YOU WILL NEVER SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS ON EARTH.
Sigh.

Mod racist parent down.

[fiannaFailMan]

There's only one answer to that question. Fuck you, you racist piece of shit.