India Gains on China in Asia's Space Race

Summary

October 22, 2008: India has launched the Chandrayaan-I mission to the Moon, which includes a lunar orbiter and an impactor. This probe is intended to study the lunar surface.

Source

Bibliography

1. Original article

2. Wikpedia entry on Chandrayaan-1

Game and Story Use

• In science fiction and Twenty Minutes Into The Future settings, India rarely plays a dominant or even significant role. However, this doesn't have to be so - a world where India is far more prominent technologically and scientifically would make for an interesting change of pace, especially if it involves space exploration.
  • And if it is possible to colonize other worlds, India might be at the forefront of such efforts if space travel is reasonably cheap. While it won't do much to help with the overpopulation problems of the country (unless space travel is ridiculously cheap, the population of India will likely grow faster than the excess population can be moved elsewhere), it might represent an important tool for reducing the psychological pressure.