this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2023
643 points (94.1% liked)

Technology

62853 readers
6000 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

India just landed on the Moon for less than it cost to make Interstellar | The Independent::undefined

all 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 237 points 2 years 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 2 years ago (1 children)

With humans aswell and robots!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 92 points 2 years 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 2 years 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 2 years 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

[–] MyDogLovesMe 3 points 2 years 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 2 years 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 2 years 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 2 years ago (2 children)

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

[–] wuddupdude 4 points 2 years ago

That's a crab fact.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Now you're talking Nonce Sense.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

They did surgery on a grape

[–] [email protected] 42 points 2 years 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 2 years ago

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

[–] [email protected] 40 points 2 years ago

Yeah but interstellar went to a black hole and back

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 years 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 2 years ago (1 children)

It's a human thing not a Reddit thing

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

How dare people have fun

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Bollywood should start filming on-site.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 years ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 years ago

But consider the low gravity dances!

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 years 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 2 years 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 2 years 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 2 years ago (10 children)
load more comments (10 replies)
[–] vreraan 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

But Interstellar had a box office of $715 million.

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