INDIA HEADS TO THE MOON

INDIA is winning extensive international praise for the successes of its space programme, as it heads to the moon.

The much-regarded New York Times newspaper has reported that India is home to at least 140 registered space-tech start-ups.

Those projects stand “to transform the planet’s connection to the final frontier,” the newspaper stated.

The report said that the growth has been “explosive, leaping from five when the pandemic started. And they see a big market to serve.”

The newspaper noted India’s “importance as a scientific power” and cited the recent agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Joe Biden that “set a course to reach new frontiers across all sectors of space cooperation.”

The acclaim comes as India is set to launch its latest moon lander mission, Chandrayaan-3 on July 14.

The landing is scheduled to take place in August.

Chandrayaan is Sanskrit for moon vehicle.

If the mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is successful, India would become the fourth country to land on the moon, following the former Soviet Union, the US, and China.

The space agency has incorporated findings from its previous US $140 million moon lander mission, of September 2019.

New York Times said that both India and the US “see space as an arena in which India can emerge as a counterweight to their mutual rival: China.”

The report noted that since Modi announced a push for the space sector, there has been a network of businesses, “each driven by original research and home-grown talent.”

 The start-up companies raked in US $120 million last year but those investments are “doubling or tripling annually.”

Sectors include launch and satellite delivery, and data beamed by satellite.

Alongside Chandrayaan, ISRO is working on a human flight mission, which is intended to take three people to a low-earth orbit of about 250 miles for three days.

That project, expected to cost US $1.8 billion, is planned for 2024.

New York Times said India is a “thriving centre of innovation” and “one of the most competitive launch sites in the world.”

Space-tech start-up is one of the most sought-after sectors for venture capitalists, the paper reported.

India’s space ecosystem is “staggering in size,” it was revealed, with clusters of companies in various cities in the country.

They are each involved in building products required for the space programme.