Chandrayaan-3 is the third lunar exploration mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). On July 14, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 was successfully launched from the famous Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India. The eyes of an entire nation have been on its development ever since its initial phase.
It was on August 17, 2023, when Chandrayaan-3’s lander, Vikram started its own journey to the lunar surface after its successful separation from the propulsion. As per ISRO, Chandrayaan-3 was scheduled for a soft landing on the moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023, at 6:04 pm (IST).
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The lander, Vikram and rover, Pragyan has made to be active for one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 days on Earth. Also, a successful soft-landing of Chandrayaan-3 has made India the fourth nation in the world to successfully land on the moon after the United States, Russia and China.
However, the reason why a lot of nations are also waiting to see the climax of Chandrayaan-3 goes to the fact that India has only spent just 75 million USD (Rs. 615 crores) on this mission. It is a massive cost-cutting if we take a look back at the budget of Chandrayaan-2. For the unversed, ISRO spent Rs. 978 crores (142 million USD) on Chandrayaan-2, which unfortunately resulted in a failure.
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For the uninitiated, Chandrayaan-2 failed due to a software glitch that affected the communication between the lander and the mission control centre on earth. Both Vikram and Pragyan crashed on the moon, and it was indeed a heartbreaking day for all the Indians across the world.
However, as expected from Indians, ISRO stood up and geared up for Chandrayaan-3 and inspired so many nations worldwide with their spirit and made a mark by minimising the total budget. When ISRO officially announced their moon mission, Chandrayaan-3’s total budget was Rs. 615 crores (75 million USD), the internet went berserk.
The reason behind worldwide appreciation was the fact that it was way lesser than the average budget of a star-studded film in Hollywood. Some of the renowned films that were made on a budget much more than Chandrayaan-3’s budget of 75 million USD are the likes of Avatar: The Way of Water (350 million USD), Avengers: Infinity War (325 million USD), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (275 million USD), John Carter (264 million USD).
While in Hollywood, producers are spending double or triple the amount of money in making a film, India has managed to complete its moon mission on a much lesser budget.
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There’s no denying the fact that the content of Indian cinema is growing. But it is also a bitter truth that time and again, we have seen producers splashing a massive amount of money on movies which look quite unnecessary. For instance, renowned filmmaker, Om Raut received a major backlash for reportedly spending a sum of Rs. 500 to Rs. 700 crores for making Adipurush, which bombed at the box office.
Some of the Indian films whose budget came quite close to Chandrayaan-3’d budget are the likes of RRR (Rs. 550 crores), 2.0 (Rs. 600 crores), Ponniyin Selvan (Rs. 500 crores), Brahamastra (Rs 400 crores), Saaho (Rs 350 crores), and the list goes on.
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On August 21, 2023, a popular news agency, Newsthink, posted a news article about Chandrayaan-3’s budget and how it is lesser than the budget of Christopher Nolan’s iconic film, Interstellar. The tweet went viral on X (Formally known as Twitter) and even gained the attention of X’s owner, Elon Musk. The founder of SpaceX replied, saying:
“Good for India”.
One of the most-asked questions on the internet is how ISRO managed to lower the budget of Chandrayaan-3. While it is obvious that ISRO has not revealed everything publicly, if the reports are to be believed, the space organisation harness indigenous technologies and collaborates with global partners that helped them lower the budget. Also, as per ISRO’s Chairman, K Sivan, every single rupee invested in Chandrayaan-3 was done, ensuring optimal results.
There’s no denying that everyone who is a part of ISRO deserves all the credit for India’s moon mission. However, there are some leaders and key people who bought experience on the table and risk-taking ability in this organisation. For the unversed, a team of six key space scientists and researchers are behind Chandrayaan-3. The team includes S Somanath (ISRO Chairman), P Veeramuthuvel (Project Director), Mohana Kumar (Mission Director), S Unnikrishnan Nair (Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre), M Sankaran (Director of U R Rao Satellite Centre), and A Rajarajan (Chief of Launch Authorisation Board).
What are your thoughts on Chandrayaan-3’s budget compared to Hollywood and Bollywood films? Let us know.
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