While my gentle observation says "Technology for the elite" is US NASA's motto of its technological robotic missions to Mars, "Technology for the masses" is the motto behind Indian ISRO mission to Mars, the author of this article from CS Monitor seems to have differing viewpoints.
Though the high reliability of ISRO Mars missions as compared to the less than 50% reliability of NASA missions has never been an issue for NASA scientists and never found mention in mainstream US media for obvious reasons, the cost-value-technological superiority of ISRO Mars missions over NASA Mars missions too has been very conveniently overlooked by NASA scientists and media.
The coming two decades may decide who will prevail in the end, like when US abandoned its Apollo missions to the Moon for being prohibitively expensive in the 70s. Everywhere cost matters at the end !!
Will US ever be magnanimous enough to accept and acknowledge the techno-commercial edge India holds when it comes to deep space inter-planetary missions (even under transitioning governments back in India) is yet to be seen.
Hear more on this at Alliance University Bangalore on 20 November at 2 PM. Kunhikrishnan has extended a warm invite to CETians !!
Click on this news item for more details on Indias Mars mission ..
http://m.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/0925/India-reaches-Mars-Why-it-matters-video
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