Water on moon has the Indian space scientists dreaming of colonies, which were until now found only in Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction novels. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is looking at the possibility of setting up a base on the moon. It is also planning further forays into space, beginning with Mars.
"There are three possible time slots to send a Mars mission - in 2013, 2016 and 2018," space agency chief K. Radhakrishnan said in Bangalore on Wednesday. "We will be looking at 2016 or 2018."
He said ISRO's launch vehicles - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) - could be used to send a satellite near Mars. "It can be done in four or five years, but the challenge is to define what scientific experiments we would conduct there," Radhakrishnan said.
The latest addition to such a concept came with the term Chandravihar (lunar neighbourhood) mentioned in a pop science book, Mission Moon. The book by S.K. Das, an honorary adviser to the ISRO, was released in Bangalore on Wednesday. Radhakrishnan told schoolchildren gathered at the ISRO for the book launch to imagine Chandravihar and work towards it. "The moon is very much a livable place. Many of you will be there. Many will be part of its building effort," he said.
Chandravihar is envisaged as a base for space exploration, buzzing with engineers, geologists, astronomers and biologists.
Former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair said Chandrayaan's finding of possibly large quantities of water near the lunar poles had increased the chances of building the lunar base. "It is going to be the frontier for exploration of the universe," he said. Nair's enthusiasm stems from the findings of the moon minerology mapper (M3) on board Chandrayaan-1 that covered about 97 per cent of the lunar surface.
Source : http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/81262/World/Over+the+moon+India+set+for+Mars+mission.html
"There are three possible time slots to send a Mars mission - in 2013, 2016 and 2018," space agency chief K. Radhakrishnan said in Bangalore on Wednesday. "We will be looking at 2016 or 2018."
He said ISRO's launch vehicles - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) - could be used to send a satellite near Mars. "It can be done in four or five years, but the challenge is to define what scientific experiments we would conduct there," Radhakrishnan said.
The latest addition to such a concept came with the term Chandravihar (lunar neighbourhood) mentioned in a pop science book, Mission Moon. The book by S.K. Das, an honorary adviser to the ISRO, was released in Bangalore on Wednesday. Radhakrishnan told schoolchildren gathered at the ISRO for the book launch to imagine Chandravihar and work towards it. "The moon is very much a livable place. Many of you will be there. Many will be part of its building effort," he said.
Chandravihar is envisaged as a base for space exploration, buzzing with engineers, geologists, astronomers and biologists.
Former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair said Chandrayaan's finding of possibly large quantities of water near the lunar poles had increased the chances of building the lunar base. "It is going to be the frontier for exploration of the universe," he said. Nair's enthusiasm stems from the findings of the moon minerology mapper (M3) on board Chandrayaan-1 that covered about 97 per cent of the lunar surface.
Source : http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/81262/World/Over+the+moon+India+set+for+Mars+mission.html
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