Before 1400s it seems almost impossible for Europeans to venture anywhere out of the Mediterranean sea. Within 200 years they had colonies in the Americas, Asia & Africa due to technological advances in navigation. Poverty & famines still existed in Europe at this time. The exploration was due to a race to exploit the riches of the unexplored world. The wealth was channeled back to Europe and today we do not see any poverty in the European countries involved in the early exploration. The current race is also about the same thing but on a different dimension. Development is about having a holistic view - all sectors need development and will be developed. The immediate spin off would be the multitude of research organizations that would want to pay ISRO to have a ride to the moon %u2013 this would enable a space related outsourcing industry to flourish producing jobs for the numerous unemployed people. The long term buy back would be mineral mining rights. Though we now have global agreements not to commercially exploit space, these ratifications are as good as the Treaty of Tordesillas between Portugal and Spain which was soon made defunct by the entry of England and Dutch into the exploration race. It would be within our best interest to see that the mineral rich South Pole area of the moon to be made a Union Territory of India within 30 years.
