'Everybody spies on their friends as well as their enemies. That's the way the world works these days'
The US space agency also warned that the risk of debris colliding with the International Space Station has risen by 44 per cent since Mission Shakti.
The Mars mission is overwhelmingly irrelevant to space science and won't advance the frontiers of knowledge. It will divert attention from the real technological challenges facing the Indian space programme, and will further distort our science and technology priorities, says Praful Bidwai.
India is only the fourth country to acquire such a specialised and modern capability after the United States, Russia and China.