this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2023
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India just landed on the Moon for less than it cost to make Interstellar | The Independent::undefined

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[–] [email protected] 237 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why is this even a comparison? India only went to the moon, interstellar had to go to other freaking solar systems and a black hole to make their documentary!

[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 year ago (1 children)

With humans aswell and robots!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Robots with feelings! Do you know how many consecutive milestones they nailed?

[–] [email protected] 92 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Cool.

The average income in India is 25x ish less than that of the US. If we scale the $75 million cost to land on the moon by 25 times, we get $1.8 billion. The Perseverance rover's cost is estimated at $2.75 billion and that thing landed on Mars.

It's incredibly impressive that India has landed on the moon on their 2nd try. Nothing should take away from that, and India should be very proud of their achievement. But geez this is a braindead article. Yes, poorer countries can pay people less do the same amount of work as someone in another country.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I respectfully disagree with you. It's a bit misleading to compare average incomes like that. I would assume the income disparity is nowhere near as large for valuable scientists and engineers working for a national space program. In addition, you are only comparing labour costs. Some materials can be cheaper in India, but certainly not by a factor of 25 and certainly not all of them. Therefore, I wouldn't say the article is braindead.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

This comparison is predicated on every part of the manufacturing process occurring in each country. As soon as India are buying parts from other countries they’re not paying India prices anymore

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Some guy at NASA: “We estimate that the cost of this part should cost 1.8Million dollars. “

Some guy in India: “You know, my cousin can make that part for 35 dollars”

[–] [email protected] 76 points 1 year ago (2 children)

These titles are dumb.

"NASA's 1969 moon landing was with a computer that can't even power Doom!"

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Did you know scientists created ways to use crabs as logic gates?

Someone calculated we need about 8 billion crabs in order to run Doom.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Now that is scientific fact. There’s no real evidence for it, but it is scientific fact.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

That's a crab fact.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Now you're talking Nonce Sense.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

Pretty sure that was the amount to store the files for the game, not actually run it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

They did surgery on a grape

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Aside from different approaches I think the biggest factor is salary difference. Still impressive though a good example for other Asian nations.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago

Modern US space projects are also basically welfare programs for aerospace companies.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago

Yeah but interstellar went to a black hole and back

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Can we not have the hundred identical stupid jokes in the comment section like we did in reddit?

[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's a human thing not a Reddit thing

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

How dare people have fun

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Bollywood should start filming on-site.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nah. The bad CGI is what makes it so so good

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

But consider the low gravity dances!

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Some houses cost less than Indian space agency spent on getting to the Moon? That must be a typo right?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes and it's incredibly annoying to me. More. Some houses cost more than Indian space agency spent on getting to the moon.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

I mean, it's still a valid sentence. Some houses do cost less. We're just defining the word some so loosely it's almost insulting.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (10 children)
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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

But Interstellar had a box office of $715 million.

The astronautics is a very expensive sector and with completely uncertain returns on earnings.