Chandrayaan-2: ISRO's moon mission is cheaper than 'Avengers: Endgame'
What's the story
Fifty years after Apollo 11 made the historic Moon landing, India's second Moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, plans to "go where no country has ever gone before": the satellite's South Pole.
However, what has struck people across the world the most is how low-budget the Chandrayaan-2 is, costing just about Rs. 978 crore ($142 million).
Here's what foreign media is saying about the mission.
Cost
Cost less than half the budget of 'Avengers: Endgame'
In May, Sputnik wrote, "The total cost of the Chandrayaan-2 mission is about $124 million, which includes a $31 million price tag for the launch and $93 million for the satellite. The cost is less than half the budget of the Hollywood blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, which had an estimated budget of $356 million."
As of June, the mission had been allocated $142 million.
Mission
'If successful, it'll make India fourth to achieve such feat'
"This will be India's first attempt at a soft landing on the moon. If successful, it'll make the country the fourth to achieve such a feat, after Russia, the US and China," wrote The Guardian.
Notably, once it lands on the lunar south pole, where permanently-shadowed craters harbor water ice, "the Vikram lander will release a small, six-wheeled rover named Pragyan."
Details
'Touchdown will occur on September 6'
Further, if all goes according to plan, "touchdown will occur Sept. 6 on a high plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, about 70 degrees south of the equator."
Outlining the significance of the permanently-shadowed craters, Space.com stated, "Such 'lunar cold traps' contain a fossil record of the early solar system," and could aid human exploration of the moon.
Symbolism
'India's space program gained new prominence under Modi'
Separately, The Washington Post stated, "Although India's space program began as early as the 1960s, it's gained new prominence under PM Narendra Modi."
It added, "The nationalist leader swept to reelection in May after a campaign focused on security and patriotic rhetoric. Modi has promoted the space program as a symbol of the country's rising stature internationally and a bulwark of its defense capabilities."
Quote
'Lunar ambitions driven by desire to flex technological muscles, nationalism'
"China, India and even smaller nations like Israel and South Korea are all pursuing robotic Moon missions. Their lunar ambitions are being driven both by a desire to flex their technological muscles and by the rise of global nationalism," an NPR article reads.
Scientific significance
'Mission could yield vital info about Moon's mysterious water troves'
The Guardian stated Chandrayaan-2 will "study the moon's mineral and chemical composition and its topology and seismology."
The Scientific American added, "The new mission's journey could yield vital information about the Moon's mysterious troves of water, which could be used for scientific studies of deep lunar history - or for manufacturing rocket fuel, potable water and breathable air in support of future human outposts."
Past missions
'Chandrayaan-1 helped confirm presence of water on moon'
"Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar mission in 2008, cost $79mn and helped confirm the presence of water on the moon," wrote Reuters.
It added, "In 2014, India launched an unmanned Mars mission at a cost of $74mn, or less than the budget of the Hollywood space blockbuster "Gravity" and a fraction of the $671mn the U.S. space agency NASA spent on its MAVEN Mars mission."