The world has launched many rockets and has made many attempts to step on the moon. Perhaps, there have been several successful attempts. Besides technology, the moon has always been very fascinating that even poets use the moon in similes.
In yet another trial, Bengaluru-based startup, TeamIndus has come forward to etch people’s names on plates and place them on the lunar surface. Their procedure involves micro-engraving the names of interested public on small-sized aluminium objects and placing them on the moon’s surface during the next mission. They have charged ₹500 per head for the same.
The mission is planned for December 28th 2017. The PSLV rocket after a 3.84km lakh long travel from the earth will land on the moon on January 26th 2018. The aluminium object will be placed on the surface during its landing while picturising the earth from its satellite view.
Sheelika Ravishankar, Manager of Marketing and Outreach of TeamIndus while speaking to the media said that this was a crowd funding project. “In the future, when people start travelling to the moon, who knows, they may find this box and spot the names of their ancestors,” Ms. Ravishankar told the press. She also mentioned that 10000 people have already registered their names.
The Lunar XPRIZE
It is to note that, TeamIndus is the only Indian competitor in Google’s Lunar XPRIZE. The startup has already sought a contract from ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) for a PSLV. The competition powered by Google, challenges to design and land a robot in the moon. This team is on their mission to land their own robot in 2018.
