Chandrayaan-3 cheaper than Bollywood, Hollywood films? ISRO missions, film budgets compared

As ISRO prepares for the Chandrayaan-3 landing, social media has been abuzz with chatter about the frugal budget of India's space agency.

ISRO is famous for cheap space missions as compared to USA or Russia.

But social media users have also compared the cost of the Chandrayaan-3 mission with big-budget movies.

Chandrayaan-3 has a budgeted cost of around ₹615 crore. Meanwhile, the movie 'Adipurush' cost ₹500 crore, and 'Brahmastra' ₹450 crore, as per reports.

Chandrayaan-2 cost ₹970 crore, including around ₹370 crore for the launch. In comparison, 'Avengers: Endgame' cost over ₹2,000 crore to make.

The 1st Moon mission cost around ₹385 crore, while the Hollywood blockbuster 'Avatar' cost ₹1,000 crore to make.

Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 and its objectives are to demonstrate safe and soft-landing on the lunar surface, roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-2 had failed in its lunar phase when its lander 'Vikram' crashed into the surface of the Moon following anomalies in the braking system in the lander while attempting a touchdown on September 7, 2019. Chandrayaan's maiden mission was in 2008.

The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near the lunar south pole.

The soft-landing is being attempted days after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control.

After the second and final deboosting operation on August 20, the LM is placed in a 25 km x 134 km orbit around the Moon.

Also watch: Chandrayaan 3: Why it's key to NASA's astronaut mission to Moon in 2025 | South Pole Landing

The module would undergo internal checks and await the sun-rise at the designated landing site, ISRO has said, adding that the powered descent -- to achieve soft-landing on the Moon's surface -- is expected to be initiated at around 5:45 pm on Wednesday.

The critical process of soft-landing has been dubbed by many including ISRO officials as "17 minutes of terror", with the entire process being autonomous when the lander has to fire its engines at the right times and altitudes, use the right amount of fuel, and scan of the lunar surface for any obstacles or hills or craters before finally touching down.

(with PTI inputs)