Preface
As the world's most populous country, India has always looked to China as a benchmark and likes to compare itself with the mainland, but the results are often ridiculed, but this time, India seems to have won......
On June 25, according to CCTV news, the Chang'e-6 returner successfully landed in the predetermined area with "local products" on the back of the moon.
These days, Chang Liu has once again become the focus of global attention, and it is not difficult to infer from the previous Chang 5 that Chang Liu has spent at least more than a billion yuan this time.
On the other hand, India, as the fourth country to successfully land on the moon, only cost 74.6 million US dollars to land on the moon that year.
This makes one wonder why the cost of landing the moon in India is so low.
Isn't our space industry, which has been leading for many years, even comparable to India, which has always been funny?
The content of this article is written with authoritative information combined with personal opinions, and the source of information has not been marked in the article, please be aware.
The cost of India's moon landing cost only $74.6 million
Since ancient times, we humans have had "flying dreams".
But up to now, you can also find that not all countries can go to the moon, in the early years, Russia, the United States, including the continent successfully landed on the moon, but it made the world envious.
In other words, the moon landing is an important business card for becoming a great power.
And India, as the fourth country in the world to successfully achieve a soft landing on the moon, is undoubtedly also a success.
Speaking of which, although India is always funny, they are extremely serious about aerospace.
As early as 1963, at that time, the relatively backward India had a big "dream".
That year, they launched the first rocket, although the rocket was only launched at an altitude of 200 kilometers above the ground, although some of the external devices of the rocket at that time were transported to the launch pad by the staff on bicycles.
But for India at that time, it was also a big step forward in the field of aerospace.
Since then, India has continued its efforts.
In 2018, in order to achieve the goal of landing on the moon, they even launched a probe called "Chandrayaan-1".
Chandrayaan-1 did "contribute" to India at first, not only successfully entering the lunar orbit, but also later providing India with a large amount of graphic material.
At that time, the Indians were very excited, but it didn't take long for many Indian scientists to suffer, just because the "Chandrayaan-1" lost contact with the earth, and India's "dream of landing on the moon" was shattered!
Even so, it doesn't mean they have given up on the moon.
So, later, we saw the Chandrayaan-2 and the triumphant Chandrayaan-3.
However, does the success of Chandrayaan-3 really mean that India has become a global space power?
In fact, we need to note that the cost of India's 2023 lunar mission is about 7,460 US dollars, while in the 70s of the 20th century, the American Apollo program lasted for 11 years, costing a total of 25.5 billion US dollars.
In this way, not to mention inflation and other reasons, the average cost of a one-year moon landing in the United States is $2.3 billion, which is so big compared to the two!
You may see this, and I want to say that the Apollo moon landing in the United States at that time did not cost at all, and they also carried sufficient fuel.
On the other hand, India landed on the moon at a cost of only 7,460 US dollars.
It's not that the technology is inferior, but the reason for the low cost of India's moon landing
That's a good thing to say, but the cost of landing on the moon is low, and a series of problems will arise with it.
For example, the power of the launch vehicle will be on the low side, and what does it mean that the launch vehicle is on the low power?
In fact, the probe used by India at that time flew several times around the earth to gain sufficient speed, and then flew for another month, and only reached the lunar orbit after twists and turns.
From this point of view, lunar exploration is indeed a "money-burning" undertaking, and it is normal for the mainland's Chang'e-6 to spend billions of dollars on the moon landing, not that it is inferior to India.
Furthermore, why is it cheaper for India to land on the moon?
On the one hand, their concept of moon landing is different from that of other countries, India landed on the moon at that time, and even the cost of research and development was not calculated, so how could the cost of their moon landing be high?
The mainland's lunar exploration project has "come out" step by step, but India, on the other hand, has accelerated the pace of aerospace development and reduced costs.
On the other hand, the reason why the cost of landing on the moon is low is also because India's budget in the space field is very small, according to data, in 2023, the Indian government allocated about 1.6 billion US dollars to the space field, while the United States has 260 US dollars.
From this aspect, we can also find that although India has succeeded once, it does not mean that they have become a space power.
And do you know what is the "secret" behind the "Indian Chandrayaan-3" that was able to become a lunar south pole probe at that time?
In fact, behind this is not only their determination to compare themselves with the mainland, but also the huge gap between the rich and the poor in India.
According to Oxfam, an international coalition of anti-poverty agencies, the richest 10 percent of India's people control 80 percent of the country's wealth, while the richest 1 percent own 58 percent of the wealth.
The OECD has also calculated that in 2022, about 7 out of 10 adults in India did not have a high school education, and even among minors, 7 out of 10 women did not have a high school education.
What are these concepts? It's just not too outrageous!
The moon landing is simpler than changing the domestic situation mentioned above, and it is in this way that we can see that in these years, including previous years, India has made efforts to develop its space industry.
In 2008, for the first time, they sent a probe into lunar orbit;
In 2014, India became the first Asian country to launch a satellite into orbit around Mars;
In 2023, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United States, during which he also signed the "Artenis" agreement with the United States, becoming a "member of the Artenis Plan to Follow the United States".
India is also home to nearly 140 registered space technology start-ups, which also launched India's first privately built rocket at the end of 2022.
But then again, what is India's lunar exploration?
The significance of China-India lunar exploration
India's lunar exploration is for the sake of lunar exploration, but the mainland's lunar exploration has a deeper meaning.
Just as the "father of Chang'e" on the mainland introduced it, carrying out lunar exploration will not only have an important impact on the mainland's economic development and structural adjustment, but will also play a major role in promoting space astronomical research and improving the scientific quality of the whole people.
Image source: Ningbo Radio and Television Network-Zhejiang News, released on January 12, 2019
And the continent's lunar exploration has never engaged in a space race like other countries, but to meet future challenges, just in case, to prevent an asteroid from hitting the earth.
From the point of view of our country, deep exploration is the common cause of all mankind.
CPPCC Network-"People's Political Consultative Conference Daily" 2022-04-19 Edition 08
Therefore, we can also see that in recent years, our country has shared lunar exploration data with other countries and opened it to the world, which is our country's pattern and responsibility.
Of course, although there are some differences between China and India, from another point of view, the two also have their own advantages in the field of aerospace, and we are noncommittal, both China and India have contributed to the aerospace industry of mankind.
China's systemic innovation has guided the future of deep space exploration, and India's "efficient innovation" has provided new ideas for developing countries.
What do you think? What do you have to say? Feel free to express your opinions!
The sources in this article are from:
1. "Complete! Chang'e 6 Goes Home", Guangming.com, released on June 25, 2024;
2. "The Fourth in the World! With a cost of only $74.6 million, why did India land on the moon? Times Weekly, August 23, 2023;
3. "Committee Story|Why Do Chinese Explore the Moon?" "CPPCC Network-"People's Political Consultative Conference Daily" (2022-04-19 08th edition);
4. How much did the mainland lunar exploration project cost? Is it worth the money? Project "Steward" Says This...... Science and Technology Daily, released on November 25, 2020;
5. "Space Changes Your Life!" Calculate the economic account behind the Chang'e lunar exploration project" Ningbo Radio and Television Network-Zhejiang News, published on January 12, 2019, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only!