Sets its sight on the moon

Nair said there was a renewed interest in the moon among all space-faring countries and that is the reason why so many nations have announced their plans to explore the moon further. Japan sent its lunar explorer earlier this month while China is scheduled to send its moon mission in November. In April next year, India will launch Chandrayan-1, its first unmanned space mission to the moon.

8220;We must take a closer look at the moon. We can find the signatures of basic evolution of the earth since we know that moon was created from a part of the earth,8221; Nair said

He also mentioned the need to exploit the natural resources available on the moon. 8220;We do not know what and how much minerals are available on the moon. But we have to explore the terrain and find the minerals,8221; he said. But he made it clear that something like a permanent base or even landing a man on moon8217;s surface are not going to happen in the immediate future. 8220;Our preliminary estimates show that we would require at least eight years just to send a man into space,8221; he said.