Mars Orbiter Mission and 450 Crores - A middle finger to all the Criticism

After seeing many posts/status on Facebook and questions on Quora regarding the MOM (Mars Orbiter mission) , I thought of collecting some facts (only interesting enough out of hundred plus) here for all of those who says its a waste of INR 450 Crores. 





it is a tight slap on the face of stupid public who spend the same amount on watching movies like Krishh and Robot with fake scientists doing fake things and criticize the real scientists for doing the REAL things.


1) First some pics - 

 

credit : I Fucking love science , FB page

this is the best - 

 

  

2) In 1999, a powerful cyclone hit the coast of Orissa, leaving 10,000  people dead and another 100,000 people misplaced. The estimated cost of damage was around 4.5 billion US$. 

Cyclone Phailin hit the coast of Orissa in 2013. Though less powerful than the 1999 one, it had potential to cause similar damage to life as that of the former one. It left 45 people dead and the estimated cost of damage was 500 million US$.

What had changed over in these 15 years??

Thanks to a dozen of satellites (INSAT) doing rounds of the earth, we now have a more accurate and reliable system. The early warnings sent out gave ample time to the rescue team to evacuate as many as they could.    

3) We spent Rs. 11500 crore on the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

4) If this mission is successful,  We are the first Asian to send a orbiter on Mars.Only three other agencies have managed to do this are NASA, ESA and RKA.
Out of the 51 missions that have been sent towards Mars by various countries, only 21 have been successful. Japan and China was failed in the mission.

5) Think of scams before saying anything about these 450 Crores

    

Andhra Pradesh Land Scam(2012) -- USD 15 billion
Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's land doles cost Andhra Rs 1 lakh crore: CAG

Forex Scam (2012)-- USD 4.9 billion
Rs 32,000 crore forex scam forgotten!

Maharashtra Irrigation Scam (2012) -- USD 11 billion
Maharashtra govt in crisis, all NCP ministers quit

2G Scam -- USD 27 billion

6) Total money spent on VIP Security just in Delhi: USD 552 million
'8049 cops, Rs 341 cr spent on VIP security in Delhi' 

7) how a project like Mangalyaan would affect a common man:

Several spin-off technologies in healthcare, communication, energy, artificial limbs have evolved from innovations in Space Technologies because of missions similar to this one

NASA has a briilaint flash based web feature on Spin-Off Innovations from Space Technologies:

NASA @ Home and City  ( A Must Watch)

8) If is it worth spending 450 Crores on a mission like this when there are thousands of people dieing because of hunger in a country like India - 

Here is what former ISRO chief, U.R. Rao had to say about about the same question: "When Rs. 10,000 crore was spent on Diwali crackers by people, this money was worth spending on the project."

9) In 2011, India pledged 5 billion USD to Africa in aid (India pledges $5bn to help African states meet the MDGs), that is almost 5 times the annual ISRO budget. Stop cribbing about the Mars mission, its cheap.    

10) there are endless points and facts which says thats its totally worth it spending 450 Crores on this mission. Some calculations suggest around 12 Rs/ Km..which is less than auto fare in Mumbai , Banglore or Delhi. 

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai once said :

“The question is not whether India can afford
to spend money for space research, the
question is whether India can afford not
to spend money for it!”

 All points collected from Quora or Facebook. To read more , visit the same.