India has achieved a remarkable feat in its recent moon landing mission, especially considering the relatively low Budget it had compared to other countries. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully landed near the moon’s south pole, making India the fourth country to accomplish such a landing.

What sets India’s mission apart is the cost. In 2020, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) estimated that the mission would cost around $75 million. While the launch was delayed, the overall cost is still on par with some of the lowest-cost private lunar lander projects in the United States.

NASA, on the other hand, operates with a significantly larger budget. In 2023, the agency received $25.4 billion in funding compared to ISRO’s budget of about $1.6 billion. This stark difference in budgets reflects the “different level of capability” that NASA offers, according to former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Despite the budget disparity, Bridenstine expressed hope that India would invest more in space exploration to develop capabilities that are on par with the United States. India is increasingly seen as a rising player in space geopolitics and has the potential to become a major space superpower.

The success of India’s mission highlights the decreasing costs of space exploration, which is a positive development for all those interested in space exploration. As more companies and countries embark on lunar missions, the costs of reaching the moon are expected to decrease further.

Source: CNBC

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