Chandrayaan-3 Mission Cost Less Than Some Space Movies: Finance Minister

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that the success of Chandrayaan-3 will have a big impact on India's industrial and technological ecosystem.

While speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the Union Minister briefed the House about the Chandrayaan-3 mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

"In 1975, we launched our first satellite Aryabhatta with the help of the Soviet Union's (USSR). Now, the success of Chandrayaan-3 will have a big impact on India's industrial and technological ecosystem. Although we needed help from the Soviet Union to launch our first satellite Aryabhatta, today we have launched 431 foreign satellites for other countries till July 2023," Ms Sitharaman said in the Upper House.

The Minister also praised ISRO's innovative choices in the Chandrayaan-3 project, like choosing a route that allows a cost-effective and sustainable method of accomplishing the project.

"Chandrayaan-3 mission cost only around US $75 million (approximately). Our Chandrayaan-3 mission commanded a lesser budget than some movies made on space itself...," she said.

Notably, day 3 of the Parliament special session witnessed a debate on the women's reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha, while the Rajya Sabha discussed India's space journey focusing on Chandrayaan-3's successful soft-landing on the moon.

India took a giant leap as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon's South Pole on August 23, making it the first country to have achieved the historic feat and bringing to an end the disappointment over the crash landing of the Chandrayaan-2, four years ago.

After having landed, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover performed different sets of tasks on the lunar surface, including finding the presence of sulphur and other minor elements, recording relative temperature, and listening to movements around it.

The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3, India's third lunar mission were a safe and soft landing, rover roving on the Moon's surface, and in-situ scientific experiments. Meanwhile, the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover are in "sleep mode", with awakening expected around September 22.

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