India, the world’s cheapest space explorer, plans to build structures on the moon
India’s declaration – just ahead of a planned lunar mission – comes at a time when governments are looking at the moon for the first time in years
India, which sent an orbiter to Mars at about 1/10th the cost of Nasa’s Maven probe, is examining how to build habitations on the moon.
“ISRO, along with academic institutions, is doing experimentation on potential structures for lunar habitation,” Jitendra Singh, the junior minister for space, told lawmakers on Wednesday, referring to the Indian Space Research Organisation.
“Various options are being studied about the requirements and complexities of habitats.”
India’s declaration – just ahead of a planned lunar mission – comes at a time when governments are looking at the moon for the first time in years.
China this year plans to land a probe on the unexplored dark side of the moon, where radio signals from Earth can’t be received.
In the US, President Donald Trump requested almost US$900 million in new funding for Nasa moon missions, which include building a space station in lunar orbit by the mid-2020s.