India Rethinks Plan to Send Man to Moon

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drwayne

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From:<br />http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=624&ncid=753&e=5&u=/ap/20040812/ap_on_sc/india_moon_mission<br /><br />By S. SRINIVASAN, Associated Press Writer <br /><br />BANGALORE, India - India is rethinking its plan to send a man to the moon by 2015, as the mission would cost a lot of money and yield very little in return, the national space agency said Thursday. <br /><br />"Whatever a man can do in space, it can be done with instrumentation, also," said G. Madhavan Nair, head of the Indian Space Research Organization. "This program is going to be very, very expensive. So, a national debate is required whether we have to embark on a manned mission or not." <br /><br /><br />Last year, the ISRO said it would send a spacecraft to orbit the moon by 2005 and land an astronaut on the moon by 2015. <br /><br /><br />Some scientists criticized the plan for an astronaut's journey, saying the feat is outdated and will bring little benefit to India, where more than a quarter of the 1.06 billion people live in abject poverty. <br /><br /><br />The United States landed men on the moon in 1969, but no other country has attempted it. <br /><br /><br />Many viewed India's proposed plan as an attempt to compete with China for recognition. China put a man in space last year. <br /><br /><br />Nair said India doesn't want to compete. Although he did not rule out the manned mission completely, he indicated that the ISRO no longer favors it. <br /><br /><br />Instrument-based study "is less expensive, more reliable and it can be for a longer duration," than a manned mission, he said. <br /><br /><br />A manned mission would take seven to 10 years to accomplish, and would cost at least $2.2 billion. <br /><br /><br />Nair said the plan to send a spacecraft to orbit the moon, however, remains on course. He said a spacecraft will be put <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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lunatic133

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That is a shame. We need for people to return to the moon, and India seems to be a pretty all right country to do it, especially since China's reconsidering also and US is having budget issues. I would like to know however why everyone thinks that China is more serious about returning to the moo than India when both have only talked about it so far.
 
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drwayne

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I read where China was doing some re-think too....<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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orzek

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I think china is quite serious about space because china sees it as a way of improving its standing in the world as an advanced country and civilisation. They are only rethinking about how much of their plans they want to reveal to everyone. The most likely reason for that is that they do not want to embarass themselves if things don't work out for them as they hoped. China like most asian countries does not like losing face in front of others. Therefore I don't think china will be announcing anymore of her plans in near future. They will just do what they want to do. I think in 10 to 20 years china will become a major player in space and hopefully it will encourage america to do more.
 
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orzek

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I think india is too weak economically to commit to such ambitious plans. Its large population is mostly poor thus such projects might be difficult to justify to its people. Though if china progresses quite far in its space activities this might increase indias need to respond so as to compete. We can only hope as the more the merrier!
 
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