Slashdot Mirror
India Plans Mission To Probe Sun By 2020
An anonymous reader writes "India is planning a mission to probe the Sun before 2020. The nation launched a Moon mission a few years ago and sent a Mars mission late last year. From the article: 'Indian Space Research Organization has lined up over a dozen missions, including its first probe on the Sun, Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan said on Friday. Though, the mission to probe the Sun was already on the cards, the agency now has a clear picture of its plan and had put a timeframe within which it hoped to undertake it, Radhakrishnan said, while addressing students at a private University here. He said the "Aditya" mission to the Sun had been planned between 2017 and 2020.'"
Not really...
a.) India always does it cheaper.
b.) The capability will go towards providing commercial space services. Its a money maker, rather than a drain. India is already doing this.
c.) The problem India has now is not so much as not having money. It does not have non-corrupt institutions to properly distribute the resources. They will improve as education improves in subsequent generations who will then elect better politicians, demand cleaner systems and more effectively fight for their rights. Projects like these inspire students.
Because NASA totally waited until the US didn't have any homeless people before heading to space...
India does get foreign aid. But I would not call it "dependent".
"... ice"
They won't need ice. They're going at night.
Actually India offers foreign aids to other foreign countries too. India is still a net gainer in foreign aid (receives more foreign aid, that it gives out to other countries), but calling them dependent on foreign aid is ridiculous. It is peanuts compared to their yearly budget.
Isn't that what Americans were saying about Apollo? Here you go:
A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arms began to swell.
(and Whitey's on the moon)
I can't pay no doctor bill.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Ten years from now I'll be payin' still.
(while Whitey's on the moon)
The man jus' upped my rent las' night.
('cause Whitey's on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no lights.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
I wonder why he's uppi' me?
('cause Whitey's on the moon?)
I wuz already payin' 'im fifty a week.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Taxes takin' my whole damn check,
Junkies makin' me a nervous wreck,
The price of food is goin' up,
An' as if all that shit wuzn't enough:
A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face an' arm began to swell.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Was all that money I made las' year
(for Whitey on the moon?)
How come there ain't no money here?
(Hmm! Whitey's on the moon)
Y'know I jus' 'bout had my fill
(of Whitey on the moon)
I think I'll sen' these doctor bills,
Airmail special
(to Whitey on the moon)
Support microSD: in a post 9/11 world, it is unwise to carry your data on media that you cannot comfortably swallow.
Are you serious? Do you really think that this probe to the sun is going to result in better growing of crops? Seriously? Do you really think that India's money spent on a sun probe will result in more food than say the same investment in solar panels for a more steady electricity supply?
Yes, I do think that a probe into the sun to understand some of the environment which makes up the photosphere and the outer layers of the Sun better will indeed be far better spent money than dumping that into a bunch of foreign-made solar panels in some remote village to provide a steady supply of electricity. This is especially true for a country with as many people as live in India, where the individual investment into such a project is quite small per person and the pay-off can be so much more.
Try to learn about basic research and the benefits that have come from it. I certainly don't feel bad about myself feeling this way nor should SJHillman for that matter either. Basic research in space (including the stuff going on with the ISS) has been able to feed, clothe, and in general improve the overall standard of living for far more people than any other single endeavor in the past hundred years. It is literally saving lives, lives which in many cases can even be counted. I will even go so far as to suggest that we've only just started on the ways it can help humanity as a whole, and India in particular.
For this particular research in particular, it can help explain some of the non-anthroprogenic causes of global warming (IMHO something useful to know about too) and can certainly pave the way to help with much more accurate weather forecasts and other tools that can most certainly help out that village you are so concerned about. The pay-off for spending this money may take decades or even centuries to completely realize, but it will happen. A bit of a risk I suppose and knowing it is helping all of mankind at the same time rather than just the one village, but I certainly congratulate India on trying this project.
With all of the problems that exist in India, I don't see how they are going to get it done. Even if they do, at what ultimate cost? I think of all those who will suffer as a result of a government fools errand.
While I will admit India has some problems, they are an emerging country and certainly not the destitute poor that you are making it out to be. I also admire the Indian space program as something which really is a top rated endeavor that ranks right with China, Russia, and America. They have very competent rocket scientists that know how to put a vehicle into orbit, and really aren't all that far away from being able to successful launch crewed flights of their own if it wasn't for stupid and silly comments like yours who depict India as some poor unfortunate backwater country not worthy of anything but pity.
Heck, I am very impressed they are even considering this probe, and it represents a level of sophistication and ability which so far no other country on the Earth, not even America, has been able to accomplish. Getting something into the Sun takes more delta-v than a sample & return mission from Mars and in fact is harder than sending something into interstellar space like the Voyager missions. This literally is the frontier of human experience in any form and that by itself should speak volumes about what India is going to accomplish here.
North Korea Lands First Ever Man On The Sun
appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars
What nobody seems to be pointing out is that having a program to build rockets that can boost payloads into low earth orbit and beyond is exactly the kind of technology one needs to develop ICBMs and tends to be a bit more politically correct.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!