Young minds in TN working on students' driven moon mission

An ambitious students' driven private lunar mission, claimed to be the first such initiative in the world, is in the offing by a team of young scientists, the brains behind the 64 gram 'KalamSat' satellite, launched by NASA in June 2017.

Their initiative comes even as top minds at India's space agency ISRO are readying to launch their second moon mission, the Chandrayaan-2.

The students' mission is expected to be launched before the end of next year and is estimated to cost a whopping Rs 250 to Rs 300 crore, Mission Director of city based SpaceKidz, Srimathy Kesan said.

The initiative is to instill a sense of confidence among students that they can "ask for the moon" and see that their ideas transcend the earth, she said.

"It is going to be the first ever 3-D printed rover, as light as 2.5 to 3 kg," Kesan, also CEO of the private entity working to promote a quest for science among Indian students, told PTI.

"The 3D technology has various benefits and that is why we wish to build the rover with the same technology."
Asked about the objective at a time when ISRO was planning Chandraayan 2, she said "that is a governmental mission... we want to tell the world that Indian kids can do it too and aspire for bigger things as they grow."