Pranathi Asked: Will Mars Orbiter Mission outpace China’s space dominance over India?

Ajey Lele replies: The Chinese space programme is much more advanced than the Indian programme. China succeeded in putting its astronaut in space a decade ago in 2003, whereas India has no immediate plan for manned space mission. Shortly, they would be launching their third mission to Moon where a robot would be actually landing on the Moon, while it may take some more time for India to launch its second Moon mission. Also, China has a satellite navigation programme with global reach, which is not the case with IndiA. Vinod Kumar Vinod Kumar In spite of the above, some believe that India is in a space race with ChinA. Vinod Kumar Vinod Kumar It is important to appreciate that “space race” is essentially a Cold War era concept. In the 21st century, for a nation like India, “pragmatism” is the key when deciding on its geopolitical prioritieS. Kalyanaraman For India, space is of importance for social and economic reasonS. Kalyanaraman India’s space programme is India-specific and not China-specific. It would be naive to think that just because a Chinese satellite could not make it to Mars, India is trying to race with ChinA. Vinod Kumar Vinod Kumar For more on India’s Mars mission, please refer to Ajey Lele’s following recent publications: Ajey Lele, “The late beginner advantage”, Indian Express, November 11, 2013. Ajey Lele, Mission Mars: India’s Quest for the Red Planet, Springer, 2013.