With He-3 on mind, India gets ready for lunar mission 19 Sep, 2008, 0000 hrs IST, ET Bureau
BANGALORE: Indian space scientists expect to map the lunar surface for the helium-3 (He-3) mineral to fuel nuclear power plants and frozen water as they make final preparations for India's mission to the moon, expected to blast off next month.
Non-radioactive He-3 is scarce on earth but believed to be abundant on earth's natural satellite and is seen as a promising fuel for advanced fusion reactors to generate power. The Chandrayaan-I mission is tentatively scheduled for launch between October 19 and 28.
The 575-kg spacecraft will be transported to the moon by a modified version of India's main rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. "The mission will help us locate He-3, which has the potential to produce a large amount of energy. It is expected that in a few years we can transport it from the moon to run nuclear plants and generate electricity," the director of the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) satellite centre T K Alex said.
The satellite is in the final stages testing and it will be transported to the launch pad at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It will carry a total of 11 instruments, including six from India, two from the US and one each from Bulgaria, Germany and the UK. The satellite, which will orbit the moon from 100 km above, will jettison a 'moon impact probe' to slam into the lunar surface to help explore it from a close range.
"Probably 10 years from now fusion reactors which can use He-3 will be available. Our second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-II, will also have a lunar lander and help us collect samples of the mineral. The government has given clearance for Chandrayaan-II and we will start the mission as soon as Chandrayaan-I is completed," Chandrayaan project chief Mylswamy Annadurai said. Programme director (satellite navigation)Surendra Pal said a couple of tonnes of He-3 would be enough to meet the energy needs of the world.
"In the next 40 years, it will be possible to transport it to the earth," he said. Besides He-3, India's first moon mission will also search for important minerals like titanium, uranium- 238 and possibility water. "Chandrayaan will look for large craters which have never been exposed to sun light. They are potential sites for frozen water, which is great subject of interest for humans," the head of ISRO's astronomy and instrumentation division Sree Kumar said.
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