Yes, We are developing even in space?

ISRO is the crowning jewel of India. India’s space organisation, ISRO, launched a rocket  today carrying a small, unmanned spacecraft, the Mangalyaan (“Mars vehicle”). By the end of the month, the orbiter is set to stretch its solar wings and begin anine-month trip to Mars. Officially, it will look for signs of methane on Earth’s neighbor.  successful mission would swell national pride. But as the Mangalyaan begins its journey, many might wonder how a country that cannot feed all of its people can find the money for a Mars mission. How can poor countries afford space programmes?

India is not the only emerging economy with space ambitions. There are many countries regulating with over 70 space programmes, though only a dozen of these have any sort of launch capability. In this area China’s shown their advanced capability and : last year it put a woman in space, and in December it will launch its first (uncrewed) lunar mission. 

The glance of Indian edge, Inida still has immense numbers of poor people: two-fifths of its children remain stunted from malnutrition and half the population lack proper toilets. Its Mars mission may be cheap by American (or Chinese) standards, at just $74m, but India’s overall space programme costs roughly $1 billion a year. That is more than spare change, even for a near $2-trillion economy. Meanwhile, spending on public health, at about 1.2% of GDP, is dismally low. 

Needing alter development for general requirements: Trips to the Moon and Mars may well be mostly about showing off. But most space programmes are designed to get satellites into Earth’s orbit for the sake of better communications, mapping, weather observation or military capacity at home. These bring direct benefits to ordinary people. Take one recent example: a fierce cyclone that hit India’s east coast last month killed few, whereas a similar-strength one in the same spot, in 1999, killed over 10,000.