ISRO'S Mars mission is the cheapest so far. Just Rs 450 crore.

"That is Rs 12 per km. Equivalent to Auto Fare. Truly Indian" - this is what a
well wisher of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has to tell
critics of the Mars mission in his post on the Facebook page of the space
agency.
This enthusiastic comment is, in fact, not far from the truth. The criticism of
the Mars mission being 'a waste of money' appears to be misplaced.

India successfully launched its first mission to Mars on board PSLV C25. The mission will
help fire the imagination of the young and may attract more people to science
You have to look at the space programme in totality. You can't pluck out this
particular mission and say it is a drain on national resources.
If one monetises the worth of national services that ISRO satellites are
providing - communications, broadcasting, broadband, weather forecasting,
disaster warning, ocean monitoring, education, navigation - it would be
several times the budget of the space agency.
The cost of hiring or buying all these satellites or services from foreign
operators would run into billions of dollars.
Projects like Chandrayaan and Mars Orbiter Mission are not designed to
yield the same tangible outcomes as operational satellites like INSAT or IRS
do. They are designed for scientific or technological explorations.
Chandrayaan was a scientific mission with a number of payloads to explore
the lunar atmosphere and surface. It did yield good scientific results - the
discovery of molecular water on the moon.
On the other hand, the Mars mission has been designed as a technological
mission. The objective was to develop and test technologies necessary for
long inter-planetary missions.
The orbiter carries scientific payloads but their capacity is much less
compared to those sent on the lunar mission. So, any scientific outcome from
this mission, if it is successful, will be a bonus.
The benefit from this mission will be in the form of technology experience
gained, which will be useful in future earth-benefiting missions.
At another level, the intangible benefits of missions like Mars are great. They
help fire the imagination of the young and will hopefully attract more of
them to science.
ISRO was flooded with job applications following the success of the
Chandrayaan mission. Public understanding and appreciation of science is as
important as the midday meal scheme or constructing new highways.
In any case, Rs 450 crore is not a big price to pay for this. Fuel worth Rs
1000 crore is wasted in Delhi alone by idling vehicles on roads every year.
In addition, our space programme is highly cost-effective, getting much more
for every dollar spent compared to others in the business.
ISRO's annual budget is about one billion dollars, compared to $17.7 billion
for NASA, $7.9 billion for Russian agency, $5.6 billion for the European
Space Agency and $ 2.5 billion for China.
Unlike the Chinese programme, which is completely focused on national
pride and superpower dreams, India's space programme is linked to broader
national theme of national development. Let's take the Mars mission for what
it is - a technological leap for ISRO if it succeeds in placing the orbiter in an
orbit around Mars in September 2014.
Zooming onto the social networks

For the first time, the Indian space agency has taken to social media by
creating a Facebook page for the Mars Orbiter Mission.
Within 10 days of its launch, the page has garnered 221,000 likes. More
significant is the quality of feedback to updates posted by ISRO.
Some very intelligent questions are being asked on each orbit raising
maneuver of the mission and are being promptly replied to by space
scientists.
For instance, someone asked an interesting question on the state of MOM
during the 300-day journey to the Mars orbit. Do you see any problem in
starting the idle engine of MOM after 300 days of travel in intense sun?
"The propulsion design takes care of this issue by alternate paths for fuel and
oxidizer provided for Mars Orbit Insertion Manoeuvre", replied ISRO
promptly. One has never seen this kind of public communication by any
scientific agency in India.
Like its rocket programme, ISRO is being cautious with social media. This
time it was Facebook. For the next launch, we can hope to see updates on
Twitter as well.
NASA also visiting the Red Planet

Keeping company with India's Mars orbiter on its 300-day long journey
would be NASA's orbiter called MAVEN - Mars Atmosphere and
Volatile Evolution - mission to be launched next week.
It will explore the Red Planet's upper atmosphere, ionosphere and
interactions with the sun and solar wind.
Scientists hope data from this mission will help them piece together the
history of Mars' atmosphere and climate, liquid water, and planetary
habitability.
Billions of years ago Mars had earth-like atmosphere and flowing water,
all of which disappeared over time.
By studying the Martian atmosphere, scientists hope they can work back
and figure out why is Mars so barren today.
It IS rocket science
The real 'hero' of the Mars mission story so far is the rocket, Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which was on its silver jubilee flight on November
5.
Of its 25 flights so far, just two failed and two initial ones were categorised
as developmental. With 23 successful launches in a row, it has emerged as
the workhorse of ISRO.

ISRO Chairman Radhakrishnan after the PSLV was successfully launched
This kind of success rate is an enviable record for any agency in the highly
competitive space business.
Owing to its capacity to launch multiple satellites in one flight, PSLV has
placed 63 satellites in their respective orbits so far and, surprisingly enough,
a bulk of them (35) were foreign. In its class, the rocket is now mature
enough to be called a commercial launcher.
It is credible that we have reached this stage despite arm twisting techniques
such as black listing by the US. India's travails with the rocket technology
continue with its efforts to master the next level of technology necessary for
launching heavier satellites.
A successful launch of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
with an indigenous cryogenic engine is the next target for ISRO.