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India has now become the focal point in the global race to solve the mysteries of the Moon and establish the first permanent human settlement (Moon Base) there. American space agency NASA is preparing to build a base camp on the South Pole of the Moon under its historic Artemis Program. India’s space agency ISRO has joined this megamission as a major strategic and technical partner. After the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3, India had proved that only it has the expertise to step into the most inaccessible and dark area of the Moon. Now NASA and the world’s leading space agencies are betting big on ISRO’s capabilities and scientific data to make human life possible on the Moon.
Why is the Moon’s South Pole the first choice?
The South Pole of the Moon is considered to be the most valuable place in terms of space science. Sunlight has not reached the deep craters of this region for billions of years, where huge amounts of water ice are present in the ‘Permanently Shadowed Regions’ (PSR). NASA’s goal is to prepare drinking water, oxygen for breathing and liquid hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel from this ice. Since India is the first country in the world to make a successful soft landing very close to the south pole of the Moon, the actual data available with ISRO about the temperature, soil (regolith) and plasma atmosphere there is not available with any other country.
Artemis Accords and India’s global role
Space cooperation between the two countries is touching new dimensions after India signed NASA’s ‘Artemis Accords’. The ultimate objective of the Artemis mission is not only to land astronauts on the Moon, but also to establish ‘Artemis Base Camp’, which will serve as a launchpad for future human missions to Mars. Under this international framework, ISRO will not only contribute to mission planning and data sharing, but will also share its advanced and affordable technology to develop the necessary infrastructure on the lunar surface.
LUPEX Mission: Mission to Lay the Foundation for the Moon Base
Before building a base camp on the moon, it is mandatory to do accurate mapping of water and minerals there. For this, ISRO and Japanese space agency JAXA are working together on ‘LUPEX’ (Lunar Polar Exploration) mission. In this mission, ISRO is developing a state-of-the-art lander, which will land the heavy rover at 89 degrees south latitude of the Moon. This rover will drill 1.5 meters into the lunar surface and accurately analyze the presence of water, its purity and usefulness. The In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) results from this mission will decide where and how NASA’s Moon base will actually be established.
ISRO’s ‘Space Bricks’ technology to build a house on the Moon
The biggest challenge in building a Moon base is the huge expense of transporting heavy construction materials from Earth. Indian scientists have already found the solution to this problem. Scientists of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and ISRO have developed the technology of making ‘Space Bricks’ i.e. space bricks from a mixture of artificial lunar soil, urea and special bacteria. This technology will prove to be a game-changer in making strong shelters and roads from the local soil of the moon, which will protect astronauts from dangerous space radiation and meteorite attacks.
Deep space navigation and future roadmap
ISRO’s Deep Space Network (IDSN) based at Bayalu (Karnataka) will play an important role in maintaining 24-hour communication and accurate navigation on the lunar surface. Along with this, India has set a clear vision of having its own ‘Indian Space Station’ (BAS) by 2035 and landing Indian astronauts on the Moon by 2040. This joint mission with NASA will prove to be a milestone in making India a leader in deep space habitation, robotic mining and interplanetary logistics. This entry of India has decided that the path to the first human settlement on the Moon will pass through the scientific prowess of ISRO.