Moon Hero At Coimbatore
Project Director of Chandrayaan-1 M. Annadurai and his wife Vasanthi at The Hindu office in Coimbatore on Sunday. The Chandrayaan missions may be able to unravel “more than a gold mine” because there is a “possibility of water, sunlight and helium” on the moon, Project Director of Chandrayaan-1 M. Annadurai said here on Sunday. In an interaction with the staff of The Hindu during a brief visit with his wife, Vasanthi, to the office premises, Mr. Annadurai said the current mission was a rare one and “every Indian is proud of it.” This mission was to see what was on the surface of the moon, to study its origin and evolution. He was confident that these explorations had shown the world “we are capable” and would help India become an “equal partner” in space missions with various countries.
The next mission — Chandrayaan-2 — would look beyond science and exploration (adventurism). “Then we might be able to even do in situ analysis by digging the soil in the moon.” There could be a chemical analysis of the “potentially fertile region.” For this mission, already Rs. 425 crore had been earmarked. And with the seed money of Rs. 50 crore, the “same team” (which worked on Chandrayaan-1), probably with slight modifications, would begin the work.
“When the findings from the two missions are logically extended and when Chandrayaan-3 is launched by 2015, the attempt will be to safely bring back the technology to earth.” Besides, there would be a parallel mission to see whether the moon was “habitable” by 2020. By then “we would be technically equipped [to accommodate human beings on the moon].” Mr. Annadurai was prepared even to envisage the moon as a “natural space station,” as maintaining the current International Space Station was becoming very difficult. “The Moon can be an outpost for Mars. If water and helium there can be used, it will become a more viable option.”
Responding to a query on the impact of the success of Chandrayaan-1 on the people, he said: “One of the primary objectives of such a mission is not only to get [new] people but also to retain people by providing them a challenging ambience.” He thanked the media for its “wonderful” job in highlighting this mission.
