Chandrayaan-1 represents a giant leap for India’s space program…
The author says that exploiting the Moon’s mineral
resources may still be sometime in the future; but a colony on the moon is very much part of the plans. This is evident from the fact that none of the countries with space programs have ratified the Moon Treaty.
resources on the moon under the control of an international authority.>
The moon may – or may not – be the answer to the Earth’s depleting mineral wealth; but that is definitely the direction in which we are headed. Therefore, mapping of the moon’s mineral resources is a necessary first step. Ownership of land on the moon’s surface - the other aspect covered by the Moon Treaty – is unlikely to be an issue, given its abundance.
A base on the moon has come on the agenda of all countries (India, China, Russia, Japan and the United States) with any pretension to a space program. The advantages stemming from a Moon base – besides the national prestige involved – include basic science and further space exploration (Mars, and the Asteroid Belt). The development, extraction and management of resources are certain to follow…In the longer term, the mineral resources would provide the economic justification for settlement of the Moon.
Of critical importance would be the presence of water-ice on the bottom of craters located near the Moon’s southern pole.
Chandrayaan-1 was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (pslv); which was earlier used to launch India’s remote sensing and (TV) broadcasting satellites. Chandrayaan-1 was made and designed in India; though it includes payloads from NASA and the European Space Agency.
At 3.86 billion rupees, India’s Moon mission is much cheaper than any of its contemporaries. But the cost of the Moon mission needs to be brought down further still. To that end, India is collaborating with the United States, Japan, Korea and several European nations to send a series of exploratory robotic missions to the Moon; paving the way for manned missions later on.