---
title: "India’s Chandrayaan-2 Has More Power Than NASA’s Apollo Missions, But Cheaper"
description: "Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has designed Chandrayaan 2's moon mission to be low cost at only $123 million, which costs less than NASA's Apollo"
date: "2018-02-21"
modified: "2019-07-16"
authors:
  - name: "Dom Galeon"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/domgaleon"
url: "https://futurism.com/indias-chandrayaan-2-apollo-missions-cheaper"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "chandrayaan-2"
  - "india"
  - "lunar base"
  - "lunar mission"
---

# India’s Chandrayaan-2 Has More Power Than NASA’s Apollo Missions, But Cheaper

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/1200px-LADEE_fires_small_engines.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.isro.gov.in/gslv-f10-chandrayaan-2-mission" target="\_blank"\>ISRO\</a\>\</em\>*

## Costs and Effects

Not everything worthwhile has to be pricey, or so the [Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)](<https://www.isro.gov.in/>) wants to prove with its planned [Chandrayaan-2 mission](<https://www.isro.gov.in/gslv-f10-chandrayaan-2-mission>) to the Moon. Although it's the second India-led lunar mission, the Chandrayaan-2 would be the first time ISRO would attempt [to send a lander and a rover on the lunar surface](<https://futurism.com/india-land-moon-rover-2018>).

While that already is a feat for any space-fairing nation, ISRO's main selling-point for its new program is its low cost. The mission is so cheap that it would cost you more to embark on a *fictional* — albeit expensive — space journey like the $165-million sci-fi flick *Interstellar.* For comparison, the Chandrayaan-2 costs only around $123-million, thanks to a process described by ISRO chairman K Sivan as "simplification".

![Image credit: ISRO](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/isro.png>)

"Simplifying the system, miniaturizing the complex big system, strict quality control and maximizing output from a product make our space missions frugal and cost-effective," [Sivan told ](<https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/chandrayaan-2-mission-cheaper-than-hollywood-film-interstellar/articleshow/62990361.cms>)*[The Times of India](<https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/chandrayaan-2-mission-cheaper-than-hollywood-film-interstellar/articleshow/62990361.cms>)*. "We keep strict vigil on each and every stage of development of a spacecraft or a rocket and, therefore, we are able to avoid wastage of products, which helps us minimize the mission cost."

## A Lunar Presence

From the perspective of all other space missions scheduled in the next couple of months — which include the launch of[ NASA's exoplanet hunting spacecraft TESS](<https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov/>), as well as their [InSight Mars lander](<https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/>) — the Chandrayaan-2's mission to the Moon might not seem like much. Nothing could be further from the truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-lq2ErdlXY

With lunar missions so few and far between in recent years, it's about time humanity goes back to the Moon. This time, with the Chandrayaan-2, we're going back with more power than NASA's Apollo missions, said minister of state Jitendra Singh, [speaking to *NDTV*](<https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias-second-moon-mission-chandrayaan-2-could-lift-off-in-april-jitendra-singh-1813669>). The goal, Singh noted, would be to gather data that "may open up possibilities of future habitation of the Moon."

India's new lunar mission is set to follow the Chandrayaan-1, whose findings helped confirm the presence of [water on the Moon's surface](<https://www.space.com/7328-official-water-moon.html>) back in 2009. With the Chandrayaan-2, India expects to discover more about the Earth's next-door galactic neighbor. The program "will be a breakthrough mission not only for India but for the entire world," Singh added.

Observers — [including SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-should-already-have-lunar-base>) — have often pointed out how a lunar base could benefit all other space exploration programs in the works, especially those that aim for Mars. NASA's Mars program, for example, relies on the Moon as a potential jump off point. From this perspective, setting up a useful fixture on our satellite is long overdue.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-john-galeon-9b086925/>)  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/domgaleon>)