LARS-India
A Lunar Analog Research Station Project in India
August 2, 2009
The
idea that India may want to consider creating its own Lunar Analog
Research Station was introduced in a series of articles by Peter Kokh
and David Dunlop in the Moon Miners' Manifesto - India Quarterly #3, published July 5, 2009, pages 18-23
These
articles included suggestion of a number of suitable sites, one in
Rajasthan, the others in Ladakh (Kashmir), Himachal Pradesh, and
Uttarakhand - all minimally vegetated desert areas, most of them in
Himalayan rain-shadow valleys.
India's great success with
Chandrayaan-1, its planned follow-up mission Chandrayaan-2 and -3, and
the announcement of a Manned Space program all make such a development
a logical step to both excite public support and understanding and to
set the stage for an eventual moon-landing by an Indian crew, to be
followed by an Indian outpost, possibly in connection with the [Moon
Society] proposed International Lunar Research Park.
Pradeep
Mohandes, former President of SEDS-India [6 Indian Chapters of The
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space] quickly took
ownership of the idea and has been developing a step by step way to
phase this idea into something real.
Pradeep Mohandas
Phone no. +91-961-956-2935
Email address: pradeep.mohandas@gmail.com