While ISRO is off with ESA making noises about blocking property rights on the Moon in favor of a collective, multilateral approach, the Times of India is expressing something less than enthusiasm about cooperation on space projects:
If one were to examine the vagaries of joint ventures in space, look no further than the ISS itself. This white elephant is the largest orbital programme ever undertaken on the basis of international cooperation…All areas of development, including vital applications like maintaining food supplies and even processing its air, are in a shambles. Compare that with its successful predecessor, the Mir Space Station. Constructed and launched by a declining Soviet Union, it floated flawlessly in orbit for a decade-and-a-half from 1986 to 2001…
The author makes a valid point — sometimes, it’s just easier to do something yourself than make the compromises necessary to work with others. But then he veers off into the wrong reason for doing so:
Similarly, India’s forthcoming moon venture, or any other space agenda, should be indigenously planned, programmed and executed. That’s because nothing builds a nation or binds its people better than the realisation that it’s being perceived as a leading player in a keenly-contested domain…The founder of ISRO, Vikram Sarabhai’s motto used to be ‘self-reliance in space technology’. It should continue to be ours as well.
Sounds like a recipe for flags and footprints, with a curry base.