Rocket Science: Chandrayaan-3’s success to provide a shot in the arm for private investments
Sourabh Kulesh
Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the Moon’s surface last week, joining the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union in successfully making a soft landing on the lunar soil. What’s remarkable is that India is the only nation to have landed near the southern pole.
This spectacular feat will invigorate the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to undertake more missions and be counted among the space powers of the world.
Cost of the mission
One of the most interesting facts about the Chandrayaan-3 mission is its cost.
India managed to complete the mission for around $75 million (approximately Rs 615 crore), which is almost 30 per cent less than the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which cost India around $124 million (approximately Rs 980 crore).
Interestingly, Chandrayaan-3 commanded a lesser budget when compared with movies that are based on space. These include Interstellar ($165 million), Passengers ($110 million), The Martian (108 million) and Gravity ($100 million).
The money game
Chandrayaan-3’s success is more likely to provide a shot in the arm for private investments.
It can be deduced from the fact that just hours ahead of the Vikram
lander’s descent towards the lunar surface, the stocks of 13 companies in the space sector added more than $2.5 billion in market value.
India has created a space regulatory body, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, known as IN-SPACe. Last month, the government opened bids for building its small satellite launch rocket and it attracted initial interest from 20 companies.
According to data on the ISRO website, India has also launched a total of 431 foreign satellites from 34 different countries.
Upcoming missions
Chandrayaan-3 added a feather in India’s cap
