Could you even think of an Indian mission to the moon, as a private enterprise?
Well, there is a bunch of people called ‘Team Indus’ who are all set to do this. When we think of a space mission, we think of it taking a substantial form, years into the future. But, ‘Team Indus’ is an exception, as they plan to do it all and that too by the end of this year.
How, you may ask.
‘Team Indus’ managed to deploy Artificial Intelligence in the form of Indie – a rover that is going to make the mission to the moon. It started with the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition, which challenged enterprising individuals from all around the globe to take up a privately funded moon mission.
The challenge was – to launch a spacecraft, have a flight path, do a touchdown, move 500 metres on the moon, take pictures and videos as evidence, and send them back. That is exactly what Indie is being equipped to do.
What is fascinating about them is, how they have been able to garner widespread support from all across the country, despite, not belonging to the world of space exploration, or even science, for that matter. It is a big dream, and what makes it even bigger is the fact that we share it, altogether, as a nation. Imagine, our tricolour waving up there, in all its glory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVDrW-BofAw
Sheelika Ravishankar, the People Lead at ‘Team Indus’ is here to make us believe in the power of dreaming big, especially when you can have your name carved up there, on the moon.