Comments on: India Heading to the Moon

By: Varun Shekhar

Varun Shekhar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:38:59 +0000

The plusses for the moon mission are many: It advances the cause of pure science, affirms/confirms the quality of Indian made components and systems since anything made for space has to be of good quality; enhances India as an attractive source of commercial launches, thereby bringing in foreign exchange into India; paves the way for larger missions, such as a manned one, a Mars one and a space station; and yes, though overstated, improves the ‘image’ of the country. The question of poverty vs the space programme- why drag in the Indian space agency into this? They are NOT huge consumers of money, and they give a lot to the cause of economic development, as another poster pointed out. India’s space programme is the most civilian oriented of just about all the major countries. China’s, Russia’s and the US’ in its early stages were all military oriented and mitary derived; China’s to this day is military controlled. The military linkages in India are minimal. It’s much more about telecommincations, I&B, remote sensing for resource detection and space science i.e astronomy. If you are looking for waste, look at corruption and luxury imports.

By: Ashkar

Ashkar — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:50:07 +0000

^Would you prefer it if they were given Latin/Greek names? Or how about that Arabized/Bastardized langauage known as Urdu? Sanskrit is the classical language of India.

By: kayastha_lady

kayastha_lady — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:14:46 +0000

I don’t understand why a secular nation has to keep christen its indigenous scientific instruments with Sanskrit names of religious connotation. Its a moment of pride for all Indians, and we must have more inclusive names. Arjun, Tejas, Prithvi, Agni and now Chandrayaan ? Sounds like the Sangh Parivar’s vision of India to me.

By: Hadji's Ghost

Hadji's Ghost — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:21:04 +0000

As an aerospace engineering major, I'm really proud. To the haters, when you realize the amount of work that goes into even figuring out how to get a rocket into space, let alone to the moon and back, and then ACTUALLY DOING IT, you'll realize that talking smack about this is stupid.

And to the Canadian, thanks:

31 Â· khoofia said

not true. there are several reasons why space is important. I will give you the canadian perspective even though we piggyback on nasa. a. the canadarm technology is useful in deep sea exploration and preparing marine vessels. b. though the space station is not in polar orbit, the field of view is wide enough to test satellite communicaitons for our northern frontiers. c. multispectral remote sensing is an offshoot of the old hasselblad cameras that were first used on the lunar mission. without testing these new technologies in such fashion, we wont be able to ascertain the best way to monitor our northern shores and keep it out of the clutches of the dastardly americans, the nefarious danes and the ghastly russians. d. it helps relieve tumescence. seriously. i dont know about women - but i think guys like exploration for the heck of it. it's like wanking. only better.

-Space hockey...the final frontier! -Synthetic space maple syrup!

By: Ponniyin Selvan

Ponniyin Selvan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:36:35 +0000

No, those buildings are used as residences for Governors, Presidents, etc... their large extended families(LEF) and friends of these large extended families (FLEF). These "buildings" as you put it come equipped with independant guest wings--quite like Versailles-- where all manner of politicians, IAS officialdom etc... and their LEF and FLEF can stay. Although it is a very luxurious lifestyle, it is also, as you can see, quite inclusive. Why, I myself have stayed in a number of these places.

lucky you..

That's true.. I went inside the Raj Bhavan (Chennai) when I was a kid on a school excursion trip (One of the kids' father worked there and got some permission, I think). The sofa set there could have accomodated the tiny apartment that we lived in at that time. These guys have too much fun doing practically nothing.

By: my_dog_jagat

my_dog_jagat — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:38:59 +0000

Ponniyan 80:

No, those buildings are used as residences for Governors, Presidents etc. who are basically retired politicians or their bureaucrat sidekicks.

By: MoorNam

MoorNam — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:56:03 +0000

Governors, Presidents etc. who are basically retired politicians or their bureaucrat sidekicks. They lead luxurious lives in a sprawling estate with thousands of folks employed just to look after them.

All except one...

M. Nam

By: Ponniyin Selvan

Ponniyin Selvan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:50:50 +0000

Those buildings are still being used as active gov't. offices!

No, those buildings are used as residences for Governors, Presidents etc. who are basically retired politicians or their bureaucrat sidekicks. They lead luxurious lives in a sprawling estate with thousands of folks employed just to look after them.

Atleast active politicians need to meet people, act like they are solving problems. The Governors do no such thing.

By: MoorNam

MoorNam — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:10:24 +0000

To the moon, Laxmi. Straight to the moon!

M. Nam

By: MoorNam

MoorNam — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:07:15 +0000

Those buildings are still being used as active gov't. offices!

Mummify the folks working there in their work positions - they'll be an added attraction to the museum.

M. Nam