ISRO Does It Again, Moon Mission Chandrayaan-2 Costs Less Than Hollywood Movie 'Interstellar'

NASA¡¯s budget of $ 19 billion (Rs 1.2 lakh crore) proves that space research and rockets cost a lot of money. But nobody told ISRO this. India¡¯s space research organisation has made a name for itself by conducting space research and satellite launches that cost far less and are pretty successful.

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When the Mars Mission Mangalyaan orbiter successfully reached Mars orbit in September 2014, India became the first country to achieve the feat on the first attempt. What was also noteworthy, was the fact that the inter-planetary mission cost ISRO lesser money than it did to make the Hollywood space movie ¡®Gravity¡¯.

Now, ISRO is looking to achieve the same feat with the Chandrayaan-2 mission that is set for a launch in April. The space mission cost India Rs 800 crore, which is less than it cost to make 2014 blockbuster ¡®Interstellar¡¯ that cost $165 million (Rs 1065 crore). The movie saw astronaut Joseph Cooper (played by Matthew McConaughey) travel through a worm hole in search of a new planet for humanity.

ISRO

So, how does ISRO do it time and again? In an interview to The Times Of India, ISRO chairman Dr. K Sivan said "Simplifying the system, miniaturising the complex big system, strict quality control and maximising the output from a product make our space missions frugal and cost-effective. We keep a strict vigil on each and every stage of development of a spacecraft or a rocket and, therefore, we are able to avoid wastage of products, which helps us minimise the mission cost."

The Chanrayaan-2 mission may not be travelling through the worm hole, but all the world¡¯s eyes will be on it nonetheless. The mission will focus on the south pole of the moon, a region of the lunar surface that hasn¡¯t been explored in detail yet. Most landing missions, like Apollo moon missions, Soviet Union¡¯s Luna missions and China¡¯s Chang¡¯e have all concentrated on the equatorial regions.

ISRO

The polar regions of the moon are expected to house water on the surface and a possible site for future human habitation. Incidentally, water on moon was discovered by ISRO¡¯s Chandrayaan mission.