Indigenous aerospace company TeamIndus in collaboration with Agastya International Foundation, kicked off an inspirational campaign #HarIndianKaMoonshot to educate rural students of its Moon landing program and also inspire space exploration in Bengaluru on February 7.
The company, using the bus aptly titled Moonshot Wheels comes equipped with advanced tools and will traverse 11 Indian states covering 12500 kms in 12 months. It plans to interact with more than 36000 students in government schools. The bus is said to carry out 16 curate science experiments including live satellite tracking, Moon rover, Spacecraft scaled model and also showcase an experience zone, which will simulate space activities in small enclosure and inspire kids.
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"Moonshot Wheels is an important manifestation of our commitment to making this Mission, #HarIndianKaMoonshot," Rahul Narayan, Fleet Commander of TeamIndus, said in a statement. "Our foundation will continue initiatives like this and Lab2Moon to ignite passion for STEM in the next generation," Narayan added.
Further, select school students, who show aptitude and keenness in the space programs and related topics, will stand a chance to write a message, wherein it will be engraved on the very space equipments, which will be placed on the Moon. TeamIndus, as part of Google Lunar X Prize, is working on a project to build spacecraft consisting Lunar lander HHK-1 and a rover titled-- ECA (hindi phrase—Ek Choti si Asha, meaning ' a small dream') to deploy on the Moon, which will carry out a curated list of experiments on the lunar surface.
"Agastya International Foundation is delighted to partner with TeamIndus Foundation on this exciting and unique space education program! What makes this program special is that it targets children and school teachers from under-served communities, closely aligning with Agastya's vision", Ramji Raghavan, Founder and Chairman of Agastya International Foundation, said in a statement.
If all things go as planned, TeamIndus with the help ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)'s PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), intends to launch it space probe in the last week of December 2017 and make a soft landing on January 26, 2018. If they succeed to operate and perform predefined tests for 14 days, they will be claim Google Lunar X Prize worth $30 million.
In doing so, TeamIndus will set a new precedent in India's space exploration history. before TeamIndus, govt-run ISRO was the sole player in the country's space exploration. TeamIndus' success will definitely encourage other private companies to jump to this field and also pull young adults towards the pure science.
