India's first Mars satellite 'Mangalyaan' enters orbit

originally posted by: choos
a reply to: BasementWarriorKryptonite

the Indian space program is employing alot of people..

it will also help inspire the young to aim for something higher..

its not wasted money like you suggest..

Pure research and technological development always pays off.

"Small is Beautiful" turned out to be purest bull#.

If you want to feed a lot of people with a fixed amount of land you have to make that land more productive, kill the people, or have a war to take more land.

Development of your infrastructure and "mental resources" is probably better than reducing the number of mouths by force.

originally posted by: BasementWarriorKryptonite

originally posted by: RationalDespair
a reply to: BasementWarriorKryptonite

Let me guess: you're British?

No, I'm not. Why would you guess that and why would it matter?

You expressed a common-sense opinion on this massive waste of money - therefore people assume that you must be British

The debate here (and it's the right one to have) is how a country so utterly wracked with poverty and corruption could possibly excuse wasting so much money on sending a piece of equipment to another planet, when they have millions of their own citizens living in immeasurable poverty.

originally posted by: Bedlam
If you want to feed a lot of people with a fixed amount of land you have to make that land more productive, kill the people, or have a war to take more land.

Or simply stop wasting so much.

So many nations throw away billions of tonnes of food every year, there is more than enough to feed every single mouth on this planet if people stopped stuffing their faces with junk they didn't actually need. Look at the level of obesity and the statistics of waste in the USA and you'll see one of the biggest culprits of this problem.

originally posted by: Bedlam

originally posted by: BasementWarriorKryptonite

I would say that starving children is a bit more embarrassing - if not worse.

Having more food might be a priority, but under your plan, you can't do that.

Just feeding poor people and NOTHING ELSE is a path to destruction. Fewer children would be a solution. More development is another. Ignoring development is a fool's choice.

I hardly think that a fool's errand to mars with a robot is 'development' - especially when it's already been done a few other times. I'd rather the path to destruction that we're on be a road of full bellies than Mars missions.

originally posted by: choos
a reply to: BasementWarriorKryptonite

the Indian space program is employing alot of people..

it will also help inspire the young to aim for something higher..

its not wasted money like you suggest..

Well, they got the equivalent of an RC car to mars with a rocket, while much of the country lives in poverty - I guess you and I just have differing opinions on what we consider 'wasted money'.

a reply to: BasementWarriorKryptonite

The root of India's poverty is poor infrastructure.

The only way to combat that is with planning and time. You could throw the entire US budget at it, and you would hit the point of diminishing return = 0 (or close enough to be zero) not far off of what India is currently throwing at it.

It's not like you can just throw down a couple roads and hang some wires. They don't even have a base infrastructure, in most areas, to expand off of.

Yet, in spite of that, they have managed to make substantial reductions, in their poverty numbers, over the past decade.

originally posted by: johnb
a reply to: Catacomb

That doesn't make it right though does it?

If those countries with space programs spent those billions improving the lot of the common people wouldn't the world be a much better place to live?

Then once we have sorted our own planet THEN we can explore beyond

Every country has priorities .. better things to do .. but progress must continue where it is due ... just like you have better things to do than to criticize genuine progress ..

originally posted by: junglimogli

originally posted by: johnb
a reply to: Catacomb

That doesn't make it right though does it?

If those countries with space programs spent those billions improving the lot of the common people wouldn't the world be a much better place to live?

Then once we have sorted our own planet THEN we can explore beyond

Every country has priorities .. better things to do .. but progress must continue where it is due ... just like you have better things to do than to criticize genuine progress ..

This wasn't genuine progress and it's not due before feeding the hungry masses of their country. Surely it's all just a stunt to shut them up. Let's feed them some propaganda instead of food.

a reply to: BasementWarriorKryptonite

You may mean well, but your vision is too short sighted.

You can spend billions feeding the hungry and probably end up feeding them for about a year but then what? They won't have the engineering expertise to improve anything..

Atleast with the space program they have a large workforce that is paying tax to help their country with the benefit of training up engineering expertise to help improve.

originally posted by: choos

Well, I guess you have a point. We may as well just leave things as they are and keep the wheels turning - albeit it creakily and slowly and still in need of a service.

And some trolls arrive again diverting the topic either by ignorance or by sheer stupidity ..

Throwing money into peoples plates its the best way to waste money and achieve absolutely nothing other than empty pockets , you invest the money in better infrastructure, technologies so you can make use of what you have with efficiently . Free money might work in places where u can print money nonstop , but not in developing countries ...

Unfortunately the developed countries these days have proven to be an unreliable partner when it comes to anything and hence countries have to do things themselves and achieve self reliance if they are to progress ..

scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net...

originally posted by: Aleister
Maybe today I'll celebrate by having an Indian buffet (any excuse will do). Congrats India!

Now that is an excellent idea, I think I will do the same today...

they say that their space program is a profit making entity, so maybe this mission came from its profits, Good achievement in any case.

originally posted by: maddy21
And some trolls arrive again diverting the topic either by ignorance or by sheer stupidity ..

I never saw any trolls - I saw people asking valid questions and raising valid points. I hope you don't mean peole that you disagree with, because that's not what a troll is...

The Mars Orbiter Mission is equipped to detect methane. Methane seems to have been detected on Mars before, but confirmation by repeated observations has proven elusive. Since some oxygen has been found in Mars' atmosphere, the confirmed presence of methane could support the existence of life.
There are geological explanations for the presence of methane on Mars, but these are speculative, lacking evidence. They propose to use the Mars Orbiter to look for methane on a global scale, and over a considerable length of time, long enough to make a map of its distribution, if any. This could be the ideal way of confirming infrequent, transient and localized plumes of methane in Mars' atmosphere.

Before whining starts about the wisdom of spending money on space research/exploration while there are other issues facing India:
1) ISRO's(Indian Space Research Organization) budget is only 0.34 per cent of Central Government expenditure currently and 0.08 per cent of the GDP(~USD 800 Million). Compare that to billions spent on "Fix Poverty" programs such as Employment Guarantee Programs(NREGA, USD 7.24+ Billion spent each year) and Subsidized/Free Food Program(FSB,USD 20+ Billion to be spent each year) etc.
2) And Mars Orbiter Mission/Mangalyaan would cost USD ~74 Million only.
3) ISRO is actually funding itself thanks to annual revenue from foreign satellite launches and sale of satellite data/imagery(that is useful for things like Google Maps for example) through its Antrix Subsidiary. Last time I checked it was INR 9 BILLION. source.
4) Data generated by ISRO and related organizations is helping the poorest of poor in India:
Voluminous data from the Indian remote sensing satellites has benefited millions of farmers and fishermen in achieving higher productivity and making optimal utilisation of resources, a senior space scientist said Saturday.
"Studies by the premier economic research institute NCAER have shown that remote sensing data has accrued multiple benefits to farmers across the country with seven percent increase in productivity and helping the farm sector to contribute about Rs.50,000 crore to the national gross domestic product (GDP) over the years," Indian Society of Remote Sensing president V.K. Dadhwal told reporters here.
Similarly, application of remote sensing data by the fishing community contributed about Rs.24,000 crore to the GDP and saved fuel consumption by 30 percent with timely advisories on weather, sea conditions and identification of potential fishing zones for maximizing the catch. source
5) And it is saving lot of lives:
India was hit hard by Cyclone Phailin, with 12 million people impacted, including millions evacuated from the Odisha coast to safety earlier this week. This was the strongest storm to hit the state in 14 years, and it devastated homes and villages in both Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states, with flooding that has closed roads and left some 100,000 people stranded.[..]
The country's satellite imagery satellites are being credited with saving lives thanks to better forecasting, and the ability to share intensity with citizens and policymakers to urge evacuation. [..]
There are 11 Indian remote sensing satellites in service, allowing the National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad to help agencies forecast cyclones more than 72 hours in advance. [..]
The synthetic aperture radar satellites, Risat-1 launched in April last year and Risat-2 which has been in orbit since April 2009 have the ability to look for impending cyclones even at night and through clouds. The synthetic aperture radar in the satellites enables applications in agriculture too, especially for paddy monitoring during kharif season. Saral, an Indio-French satellite launched on February 25, 2013, can study ocean circulation and sea surface elevation.
"Those who criticise the expenditure on space science don't realise its contribution to not just saving lives but alleviating poverty," says Bhargava, who founded the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad. "You can argue that the space department gets higher allocation, but it is well justified. After all, Indian space scientist makes satellites and rockets at a fraction of the cost of similar US projects." source1 source2
TL;DR: Investment in Science and Technology == Good.
Link to verified unofficial ISRO AMA. www.reddit.com...



And lastly india does not waste money spending 75m $ USA did spending more than 650 m $

a reply to: vishantchaudhary

Oh, so india isn't wasting money - only the USA is. I see.

originally posted by: vishantchaudhary
Before whining starts about the wisdom of spending money on space research/exploration while there are other issues facing India:
1) ISRO's(Indian Space Research Organization) budget is only 0.34 per cent of Central Government expenditure currently and 0.08 per cent of the GDP(~USD 800 Million). Compare that to billions spent on "Fix Poverty" programs such as Employment Guarantee Programs(NREGA, USD 7.24+ Billion spent each year) and Subsidized/Free Food Program(FSB,USD 20+ Billion to be spent each year) etc.
2) And Mars Orbiter Mission/Mangalyaan would cost USD ~74 Million only.
3) ISRO is actually funding itself thanks to annual revenue from foreign satellite launches and sale of satellite data/imagery(that is useful for things like Google Maps for example) through its Antrix Subsidiary. Last time I checked it was INR 9 BILLION. source.
4) Data generated by ISRO and related organizations is helping the poorest of poor in India:
Voluminous data from the Indian remote sensing satellites has benefited millions of farmers and fishermen in achieving higher productivity and making optimal utilisation of resources, a senior space scientist said Saturday.
"Studies by the premier economic research institute NCAER have shown that remote sensing data has accrued multiple benefits to farmers across the country with seven percent increase in productivity and helping the farm sector to contribute about Rs.50,000 crore to the national gross domestic product (GDP) over the years," Indian Society of Remote Sensing president V.K. Dadhwal told reporters here.
Similarly, application of remote sensing data by the fishing community contributed about Rs.24,000 crore to the GDP and saved fuel consumption by 30 percent with timely advisories on weather, sea conditions and identification of potential fishing zones for maximizing the catch. source
5) And it is saving lot of lives:
India was hit hard by Cyclone Phailin, with 12 million people impacted, including millions evacuated from the Odisha coast to safety earlier this week. This was the strongest storm to hit the state in 14 years, and it devastated homes and villages in both Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states, with flooding that has closed roads and left some 100,000 people stranded.[..]
The country's satellite imagery satellites are being credited with saving lives thanks to better forecasting, and the ability to share intensity with citizens and policymakers to urge evacuation. [..]
There are 11 Indian remote sensing satellites in service, allowing the National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad to help agencies forecast cyclones more than 72 hours in advance. [..]
The synthetic aperture radar satellites, Risat-1 launched in April last year and Risat-2 which has been in orbit since April 2009 have the ability to look for impending cyclones even at night and through clouds. The synthetic aperture radar in the satellites enables applications in agriculture too, especially for paddy monitoring during kharif season. Saral, an Indio-French satellite launched on February 25, 2013, can study ocean circulation and sea surface elevation.
"Those who criticise the expenditure on space science don't realise its contribution to not just saving lives but alleviating poverty," says Bhargava, who founded the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad. "You can argue that the space department gets higher allocation, but it is well justified. After all, Indian space scientist makes satellites and rockets at a fraction of the cost of similar US projects." source1 source2
TL;DR: Investment in Science and Technology == Good.
Link to verified unofficial ISRO AMA. www.reddit.com...



And lastly india does not waste money spending 75m $ USA did spending more than 650 m $

Hush....your actually talking common sense..how dare you

originally posted by: gortex
Congratulations to the Indian space program and best of luck for the rest of the mission.
I wonder what part of the UK's £284m aid budget went toward the project , this orbiter apart from being a great achievement is also a prime example of why our aid to India is being stopped next year.

The 'aid' that Britain supplies for India returns alot more than a thank you and a handshake. Britain has a strong relationship with India and they are a lucrative trading partner. Why would you want to sour the water between Britain and huge economy such as India by preventing the supply of a relatively small aid package all because they sent an instrument to Mars? Dear o' dear...

Well no matter how you feel about this accomplishment India deserves this...



And on their first try...Great for them.