Tech Shout!

According to the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India’s manned mission to the moon has been shelved.

“There is no plan to send man to moon at present. But a space craft would be launched in September to study and collect data in the space around the moon,” said ISRO’s chairman, G. Madhvan.

Apparently, sources claim that India’s much-talked about manned mission to the moon has been put aside for the moment due to the high cost of the project.

If a huge budget is kept aside for this project, it might jeopardize other ongoing projects. Moreover, sending a man to the moon will also require preliminary checks, which will consume a lot of time as well as resources.

Sources further claim that the high cost on this project is not justified as the Moon’s surface has already been thoroughly explored and a new breakthrough is not really expected.

However, for a nation which has recently completed 60 years of independence, projects such as sending man to the moon, rank high on symbolism and even emotions.

Sending a man on the moon would definitely be a big boost to India’s space programme and could also drive India into the ‘elite’ league of nations that have successfully managed to carry out such projects.

However, G.Madhvan, chairman, ISRO did say, “There is a wide scope in development of solar energy and a lot of work can be done in this regard to meet the power crisis.”