"... India became the first country to successfully reach the Red Planet on its first attempt.
But the mission's shoestring budget was perhaps its most notable distinction: At a cost of just $74 million, India's space agency put the satellite into orbit for a fraction of what other nations have spent.
The U.S. Maven satellite, for example, arrived in orbit on Sunday in a mission that cost taxpayers $671 million. The European Space Agency's 2003 mission to Mars had an initial budget of nearly $200 million."
Lobster
at September 25, 2014 12:22 PM
Hm, I think I might be misconstrued above. Definitely not suggesting we should necessarily aim to be as cheap. E.g. I don't think highly-skilled aerospace engineers should earn only $1,000 per month. It's also not necessarily a fair comparison as I think Maven is doing more sophisticated things. I just think it's positive to see more countries developing these capabilities.
Gog-- Please let us know if there are any more cheese fires. Our hearts might break, but we deserve to know.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at September 25, 2014 1:41 AM
Does the fact that it was porn as opposed to facebook make a difference? Discuss!
NicoleK at September 25, 2014 7:56 AM
http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/25/news/india-mars-cost/index.html
"India's $74 million Mars mission cost less than 'Gravity' movie"
"... India became the first country to successfully reach the Red Planet on its first attempt.
But the mission's shoestring budget was perhaps its most notable distinction: At a cost of just $74 million, India's space agency put the satellite into orbit for a fraction of what other nations have spent.
The U.S. Maven satellite, for example, arrived in orbit on Sunday in a mission that cost taxpayers $671 million. The European Space Agency's 2003 mission to Mars had an initial budget of nearly $200 million."
Lobster at September 25, 2014 12:22 PM
Hm, I think I might be misconstrued above. Definitely not suggesting we should necessarily aim to be as cheap. E.g. I don't think highly-skilled aerospace engineers should earn only $1,000 per month. It's also not necessarily a fair comparison as I think Maven is doing more sophisticated things. I just think it's positive to see more countries developing these capabilities.
Lobster at September 25, 2014 12:27 PM
Leave a comment