This week's launch of India's spacecraft to Mars should not come as a surprise. Five years ago, the country sent a mission to the Moon. And going ahead, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has bolder aims. In 2015, it plans to send a probe to Venus and then another to the Sun. A reusable launch vehicle is already in the works, something that NASA is letting SpaceX develop. These achievements, however, haven't stopped detractors from asking why India is doing this when a third of its people live below the international poverty line.

The simple answer is because it makes economic sense, as technological and social development go hand in hand. This reasoning has been embraced throughout the developing world. Investment from poor countries has helped double global government spending on space programs in the last decade. It was $73 billion in 2012 but only $35 billion in 2000, according to a report by the space market consultancy Euroconsult. In that time, NASA's budget fell from $18.7 billion to $17.7 billion. Countries like Bangladesh, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam are leading the charge. More than 70 countries now have space programs of some sort.

India's success in space has proven to these countries that modest investments can provide big gains. The Mars Orbiter Mission, for instance, cost only $73 million. NASA's next mission, which will not do a lot more, is going to cost $671 million.

This mission may be part of India's competition with China, but its real implications are broader. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle used to put Mangalayaan (Hindi for Mars vehicle) into orbit has a success rate of 95 percent in its 23 launches. The ISRO also has a private arm called Antrix corporation, which has launched French satellites. In 2012, Antrix helped an Indian private space company called Earth2Orbit use the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle to put a Japanese satellite in orbit. With the world's eyes on the nation's frugal space technology, India is attracting investors beyond France and Japan.

ISRO was founded in 1969. In the last 44 years, it has achieved remarkable feats on a shoe-string budget. India has its own satellites for communication, weather data, agricultural data, and military applications. ISRO's R&D has not just helped India remain a technologically advanced country, it has also saved lives. In 1999, a fierce cyclone hit India's east coast, killing more than 10,000 people. Earlier this year, an even more powerful cyclone hit the same region but caused only a handful deaths. One of the main reasons for this contrast is that India's improved weather-monitoring systems provided accurate early warnings.

India's space ambitions are also indirectly responsible for other benefits. Bangalore, where ISRO is based, is the heart of India's high-tech industry. Before housing the likes of Infosys, Google, and IBM, it had been home to the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

If a Zambian nun were to ask ISRO's chief "Why explore space?" (just as one asked a NASA scientist in 1970), it seems that coming up with an explanation will be easier. ISRO's success means it can justify its spending without needing to invoke Carl Sagan's big-picture quotes. Of course, India cannot afford to ignore its poor. In September, despite fiscal difficulties, India signed the Food Security Bill which will provide food for about 800 million Indians at the cost of $20 billion (about 1 percent of India's GDP). In contrast, Mangalayaan cost only 0.4 percent of the bill's annual budget.

Mangalayaan has already run into a glitch, and chance is not in its favor. More than half of the 40 missions to Mars have failed. But even if it does not reach Mars, it has already achieved one of its main goals. It has forced the world to pay attention to India's success in space.

Updated to reflect that the $35 billion spent on space programs was in 2000, not 2010.