Samanth Subramanian in his New Yorker piece notes:
“For the Mars orbiter,
however, the journey was the thing. “I would say eighty-five per cent of our
mission is for technology demonstration,” K. Radhakrishnan, the chairman of the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told the Indian Express. There are
both tangible and intangible benefits to be found in this demonstration: better
research capabilities, the glint of prestige, even a nation freshly inspired by
science. But in tandem, a hard-nosed interest is at play. The success of the
mission and its attendant publicity will drive more business towards Antrix,
ISRO’s commercial arm, which sells spacecraft hardware and software, leases
transponders, and—most spectacularly—builds and launches satellites for others.”
Related,
Getting to Mars (The Cheap Way)
http://theconversation.com/billion-people-hold-their-breath-as-india-becomes-the-first-asian-country-to-reach-mars-32071