With all you guys obsessed about whether US really landed on the moon I am getting worried if India does send a mission to the moon what will be the impression on people. {In case you are wondering.....India has solid plans to send a mission to the moon]

I am sure the Pakistanis will debate heatedly that it was faked and they may fake it themselves to counter India's achievement.

Well .......do you think its worth all the effort just to get a pile of moon rocks and moon dust to show off to the world.

IMO we got plenty of craters on the Indian roads to amuse ourselves with [maybe GM or Ford can develop a new range of models called CraterCars just for Indian roads :D..........its a waste of time going to the moon.

During cold war, especially for US, getting a moon rocks does have quite a large political and socialogical influences.

India getting moon rocks nowadays, nobody will care much. You should try getting rocks from further distance. Moon is too easy nowadays. Try something like Saturn and further ... from other galaxy if possible. Don't follow people's foot steps. Create your own new foot steps.

Actually, instead of getting rocks hundreds and millions thousand of miles in outer space, try to get rocks just 1000 miles down the earth's surface. I will be more impressed :) Yea ... instead of boasting how good your rocket technology is, perhaps try to see how far you can dig down :D I bet you can't dig too far down :)

Well IMO India could better spend the money else where.

After all it is a BTDT sort of thing. Now if they decide to send a manned mission to mars or something ground breaking great, but I can't see spending billions to go to the moon 20 something years after the US did when the country is not that rich to start with.

I think most countries have better things to do with their money, especially India.

The USA get it wrong now and then, and they have been doing it for years. If India tried the failure chance would be pretty high and its a lot of money to see it go up in smoke.

Sure. Why not. :)

the point is suppose india has a need to send a mission to the moon and doesnt have the technology will US do it for no profit ?

US wont and that is the reason india is chasing its own plans. A typical example is the CRAY supercomputer which was grossly overpriced and too many restrictions of use was imposed. All that changed once India built its own supercomputer. Likewise the advanced space technology could significantly mean a lot for India.....especially in satellite launching which is a monopoly of a few select countries.

Why do India NEED to send a mission?

Why not? Nobody "OWNS" any Planet! PERIOD! They can send it wherever they want to (if they are technically able).

So countries like America are writing off debts owed to them by countries like India, yet India wants a space program? It doesnt make sense from a financial point of view.

Originally posted by microsol
Why not?
Because it has already been done and there isnt really anything else that can be found by going to the moon.
India should have better things to do with their money.

I dont think anyone will care if india lands on the moon,they missed the chance to be the 1st one's there,so i dont see any problem.....Its old news really (for us) to land on the moon,but for india who hasnt,it will be BIG HEADLINES :)

So be it!!

The Dude :)

ok I get the point..
The point is "cheaper alternative"..
like now, you are outsourcing software development to India for lower costs why not outsource space flights too ? :D

of course all this after INDIA does it. :)

Because NASA know how to do it and India doesnt?

Space flight costs a bit more to setup than a call centre.

but why on earth would anyone want to send a rocket to the moon ?
Unless it's for offensive purposes - pretty scary the way things are between India & Pakistan .. not to mention the rest of us sititng here minding our own business while trigger-happy jerks are all around us

This is IMHO but susannad is onto something!

Who herel would trust India or Pakistan with a rocket??

when Engineers in India started laying optic fibre cables across the length and breadth of the country trying to connect every nook and corner and provide internet connectivity to the masses, cynics said "what the hell ? why spend millions on optic fibre connectivity when people are starving and people are NOT having basic housing facility ?"

But the same people fell silent when they saw the HUGE earnings earned by Indian Companies using the same internet connectivity and improving the ailing Indian economy !

The same way who knows ?

Suppose, hypothetically India launches a rocket to the moon at fraction of the cost other developed countries would have spent !

Just imagine the scenario ! But it is hypothetical only for now :D

Other countries and companies pay billions to the US to launch satellites and do zero gravity testing. If India can offer this cheaper why not do it.
Of course you can't blame Pakistan for being sceptical about India's motives for such a project. I'm sure the Indian people would feel the same if Pakistan were there first.

Originally posted by UH-Matt
Who herel would trust India or Pakistan with a rocket??

I would trust them more than the UK and USA who talk total bullsh*t, and have lame excuses to hide there real motives.

I think both countries should goto the moon, or even further; you should not have to rely on others for your research.

Originally posted by susannad
.... trigger-happy jerks are all around us

The largest trigger-happy jerk is seated in the white house.

They should put all the corrupt politicians in the rocket and send it to the moon (preferably the dark side).

When the fallout from the failed rocket takes out a 3 miles radius in India you will hear me saying "told ya so".

Assuming a failed rocket is going to take out a 3 mile radius is a bit of a stretch. It's quite probable that the technology and the scientists in India are more advanced than you are giving them credit for. Look at the history of the US space program. There were many accidents and many deaths but India has those experiences to draw from.

You hit the nail on the head. NASA has the experience. India has that whole learning curve to go through because I doubt the Americans are going to help them out.

Who here would trust India or Pakistan with a rocket??

When the fallout from the failed rocket takes out a 3 miles radius in India you will hear me saying "told ya so".

Have you been drinking Matt, or are you just a xenophobe?

I personally think it would be better for India to spend that money on their citizens, unless they have some advance deals set up with forrign countries for future space launches (an international launch facility for example).

Having said that I also think the US should be spending more at home as well, as opposed to exploding their money on other countries soil. ;)

I think India should send a rocket to the moon. It's about time India enters the 20th century :D

No drinking going on here (yet) :D

I just think its a totally loopy idea. They have no experience or money for things like this, end of story.

spent some time looking into India's ability at rocket science?

it would be a short research project! :)

Searched for "india rocket science".
Results 1 - 10 of about 54,000.

Searched for "American rocket science".
Results 1 - 10 of about 285,000.

:D :D

Ok so we both agree neither of us knows if India is capable or not of launching a flight to the moon.

They could well do it ... I just think its a waste of money for India and could be a massive disaster.

Think of what else can be done with the budget required for a space program. Think of the uproar if they did try and create a space program and a disaster occured.

If it's good for one then its good for everyone. I personal must have under rated India as I had assumed they were a third world country (what ever that means) About time some other countries entered into space exploration. :kaioken:

Yes India go for it.

btw. If there any Indian female astronauts and they need an extra male I'm available. :love:


:flamethr: :usflag:

Unfortunately there was a female Indian astronaut who perished on the Columbia.
Don't underestimate the Indian space program. Many people also thought they weren't advanced enough to have nuclear weapons.
Too many people in this part of the world let CNN dictate their view of foreign countries.

Originally posted by blue27
<snip>
Too many people in this part of the world let CNN dictate their view of foreign countries.

Thats the best comment so far in this thread.... :D