Chandrayaan 2: India's lunar mission is cheaper than Avengers' Endgame and Bandra Worli Sea Link. Read how much it costs here

What is cheaper than Avengers and real? Chandrayaan 2.

India's lunar mission to the Moon's south polar region is unique in many aspects - India's first soft landing, India's first women-directed planetary mission and most importantly the compact budget in which the mission encapsulated - Rs.960 crores.

This mission is cheaper than recent hit sci-fi movies like Marvel's Dark Phoenix, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame to name a few. These movies have a budget exceeding Rs.1200 crores

Chandrayaan 2 budget comparison($143 million = Rs.960 crore)

• The US has spent $25 billion ($100 billion in current prices) in 15 Apollo missions to put a 'man on the moon'.
• Marvel's Avenger's Endgame cost $356 million
• Marvel's Avenger's Infinity War cost $316 million
• China's 1st lunar mission Chang'e-1(2007) cost $180 million
• Bandra-Worli Sea link cost $340 million

Chandrayaan 2: Meet The 'Rocket Women' Directors Incharge Of India's Ambitious Lunar Mission To Its South Pole

What comprises Chandrayaan 2's 960 crore budget?

Chandrayaan 2 has two main cost components - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) 'Bahubali' rocket and the Lunar module (orbiter, Lander 'Vikram' and rover 'Pragyan').

Bahubali (Rs.370 crore)

The 640-tonne GSLV Mk-III rocket stands 43 meters tall and has three stages. 

• The first stage containing the fuel tanks provides the initial thrust for the rocket to pass out of Earth's atmosphere. 
• The second stage has the core booster which will power the rocket after the first stage is detached.
• The third and final stage has the cryogenic engine providing the last-mile thrust

Lunar module (Rs.603 crore)

• Lunar orbiter - The orbiter with eight payloads weighing 2310 kg including 1705 kg of propellant, will orbit the moon with a lunar orbit of 100 km
• Lander 'Vikram' - Named after India's space pioneer Vikram Sarabhai weighs 940 kg including 500 kg propellent with four payloads, Vikram will land on the moon after separating from the orbiter when it is near the lunar surface, descending slowly up to 30km for a soft landing.
• Rover 'Pragyan'- The six-wheeled rover with two payloads weighing 25 kg has a 450W solar battery panel which can travel upto 500m before it loses power.

Chandrayaan 2: Former ISRO Chief Dr. K Kasturirangan Calls Chandrayaan 2 'India's Most Ambitious Launch Yet' As ISRO Starts The Countdown To The Launch

What will Chandrayaan 2 do?

The rover and probe will do extensive mapping of the lunar surface to studying variations in Moon's composition, thus further gaining knowledge of the moon's origins. Following its predecessor - Chandrayaan 1's conformation of water molecules on Moon, this mission also aims at studying the extent of its distribution on the lunar surface and sub-surface. As the South pole is the chosen site of study, Chandrayaan 2 aims at studying the craters which are cold traps, containing a fossilised record of the early Solar System