Costs, lack of quantifiable return on investment cited as reasons for change of heart

India may be changing its mind to place an Indian on the moon by 2015. The cost of the mission, as well as the perceived lack of return on investment, is forcing authorities at the Indian national space agency to rethink the idea.

"Whatever a man can do in space, it can be done with instrumentation, also," said G. Madhavan Nair, head of the Indian Space Research Organization to the Associated Press. "This program is going to be very, very expensive. So, a national debate is required whether we have to embark on a manned mission or not."

ISRO announced last year that it planned to send a mission to orbit the moon by 2005, and that it intended to land an astronaut on the satellite by 2015. However, the announcement has been strongly criticized by some members of the Indian scientific community, who say that there is little point in spending so much money on such a project. Their argument is that in a country where three quarters of its population of over a billion live in poverty, money should not be wasted on something that will bring little real benefit to the nation.

There were also comments made that India was only trying to put a man on the moon as a way to complete with China for the international recognition and prestige. However, Nair maintains that the purpose is not to compete, even though he now indicates that the project is no longer favored at ISRO. Instrument-based study "is less expensive, more reliable and it can be for a longer duration," than a manned mission, he said.

The estimated costs of a manned mission to the moon were put at over $2 billion over a period of 7 to 10 years. However, Nair said that the plan to orbit the moon is still on track, and expects the mission to take place in the second half of 2005.

"It will stay there for about a month. It will do some zero-gravity experiments like metal melting and biological experiments and so on," he said.

FMI: www.isro.org