ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 made a successful landing on the moon on August 23 and to your shock it’s budget was less than that of the movie, Interstellar. ISRO chief S. Somanath said that the ‘Pragyan’ rover has been deployed on the Moon’s south pole and made India the first country to land there. Somanath said: “More than that it will do the roving on the surface, we will also do a robotic path planning exercise which is very important for us for future exploration.” It will use two instruments to conduct tests on elements and chemical composition over the course of the two-week mission.
Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi also said “It is a matter of pride and a pat on the back for Indian scientists.India is now on the Moon.India has reached the south pole of the Moon and no other country has achieved that. We are witnessing history.”
How Much Did The Chandrayaan 3 Mission cost?
NASA spent approximately $250 billion on its many Apollo missions during the 1960s and 1970s, whereas India’s space agency was able to pull off the amazing achievement with only a small portion of that. Guess that’s why they call it ‘Incredible India’.
Chandrayaan-3, which is a $75 million (around ₹615 crore) project, seeks to further our knowledge of the moon. The epic Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Matthew McConaughey, is a film about space exploration. A total of $165 million was spent on the production of the movie which is half of what ISRO spent on the moon mission. The apocalyptic future setting of the movie, starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, Matt Damon, and Michael Caine, features humanity on the verge of extinction and a team of astronauts searching for an exoplanet that can sustain life. Not only Interstellar but Matt Damon’s, ‘The Martian’ cost $108 million.
Did you know that ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2020 successfully deployed an orbiter but its lander and rover were destroyed in a crash?
SpaceX boss, Elon Musk has also applauded India’s Chandrayaan-3 moon mission budget and said “Good for India” accompanied by a tricolour flag emoji. SpaceX has mostly been involved with the reusability of rockets, the launch of commercial satellites, and its bold plans to bring people to Mars.
Even in the face of lavish movie budgets, the world sees the dedication and cost-effectiveness of ISRO in its unwavering quest of moon exploration.
