India has recently announced several ambitious space initiatives, securing 227 billion rupees ($2.7 billion; £2.1 billion) in funding for these projects. The plans include advancing its lunar mission, launching a Venus orbiter, establishing the first phase of its maiden space station, and developing a new reusable heavy-lift rocket for satellite launches.
This is India’s largest-ever financial commitment to space projects, though experts note it remains cost-effective given the scale and complexity. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has long been recognized for its budget-friendly approach to high-impact missions. For instance, India spent only $74 million on the Mars orbiter Mangalyaan and $75 million on Chandrayaan-3—both costing less than Hollywood’s $100 million sci-fi thriller Gravity. In comparison, NASA’s Maven orbiter cost $582 million, and Russia’s Luna-25, which recently crashed on the Moon, cost 12.6 billion rubles ($133 million).
Despite modest budgets, India’s space program has made significant contributions. Chandrayaan-1 confirmed water presence on the Moon, while Mangalyaan studied methane on Mars. Chandrayaan-3’s recent images and data continue to captivate global space enthusiasts.
Retired official Sisir Kumar Das attributes ISRO’s frugality to its origins in the 1960s, when founder Vikram Sarabhai advocated that space technology would benefit India’s development, not just serve as a luxury. Operating with tight budgets since then, ISRO became known for its cost-saving methods, like transporting rockets on bicycles and bullock carts. Today, ISRO’s annual budget of 130 billion rupees ($1.55 billion) is minimal compared to NASA’s $25 billion.
Das explains that ISRO’s reliance on indigenous technology keeps costs down, a necessity since the 1974 embargo on technology transfers. ISRO scientists used this restriction as motivation to innovate domestically, while lower labor costs also helped.
Science writer Pallava Bagla highlights that ISRO’s costs are also reduced by forgoing certain safety measures, like separate test models. While riskier, this approach allows more economical missions. ISRO also benefits from smaller, highly motivated teams willing to work long hours without overtime.
The modest budget often drives creative solutions. For Chandrayaan-1, ISRO chose to reduce equipment to accommodate additional payload weight instead of using a heavier, costlier rocket. Similarly, Mangalyaan was affordable by reusing hardware originally developed for other missions.
India’s space efforts are “an amazing feat” at such low cost, Bagla notes, though expenses may rise as India aims for larger goals. For example, a manned mission to the Moon by 2040 will require a more powerful rocket, with the government already approving the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) by 2032.
Moreover, as India’s space sector opens to private companies, costs may further increase.
