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Business News/ Opinion / Online-views/  OurView | Misplaced mission to Mars?
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OurView | Misplaced mission to Mars?

OurView | Misplaced mission to Mars?

A colour image of Mars from Nasa’s Curiosity roverPremium

A colour image of Mars from Nasa’s Curiosity rover

Curiosity, the space vehicle that landed on Mars has already started sending colour pictures of the Red Planet’s surface and in the coming months is likely to begin transmitting evidence of the existence (or lack) of alien life on the Red Planet. Meanwhile, India’s cabinet has approved the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) mission to Mars with a launch slated next November. India’s mission to Mars is estimated to cost 450 crore and this year’s budget, an initial provision of 125 crore had been made to begin work on the mission.

According to Isro, the aim of India’s mission to Mars will be to focus on life, climate, geology, origin, evolution and sustainability of life on the planet. The Orbiter will be placed in an orbit of 500 X 80,000km around Mars, and will carry nearly 25kg of scientific payloads onboard.

A colour image of Mars from Nasa’s Curiosity rover

At the same time, controversies involving technology firm Devas and Antrix, Isro’s commercial arm are yet to entirely settle down. The air of unease that it has created has retarded the pace at which decisions are made and executed, a system that has a direct bearing on ambitious programmes such as the moon and Mars missions.

While it is to Isro’s credit that it has developed a lot of its technology indigenously, at a fraction of what agencies such as Nasa spend and on the back of a history of technology denial, the other reality is that several other countries such as Israel and China have either surged ahead or are hot on India’s heels. Tellingly, India is yet to become the preferred destination for the launch of “small" or sub-1,000kg satellites, a domain that the agency claims to be a specialist in. Unless it ramps up its pace, a trip to Mars might be little more meaningful than nationalist chest-thumping.

Mars mission: a “prestige" project or meaningful science? Tell us at views@livemint.com

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Also Read

Mars rover Curiosity sends home first colour photo

Mars rover Curiosity lands on surface of Red Planet

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Published: 16 Aug 2012, 09:09 PM IST
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