While astrophysicists believe that Chandrayaan-3's successful moon landing on Wednesday will provide a clearer understanding of how our planet was formed, space experts and executives believe this lunar mission will offer the potential for ground-breaking spin-off technologies and will aid the private sector in attracting additional funding in the future.
"The now-proven propulsion and landing capability, planned studies and experiments to explore resources like water and helium-3 will help make the moon a base for future habitation and explorations," said Prof. Somak Raychaudhury, vice chancellor of Ashoka University and a renowned astrophysicist who previously held the position of director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, in an interview with ET.
This trip will aid in our understanding of how Earth was formed, he added, as the moon and our planet are thought to have originated from the same nebula.
The upcoming generation of scientists, engineers, and businesspeople will be motivated by this achievement. And the new space policy will greatly increase investor confidence, bringing in more private funding and assisting us in growing into a prominent global space industry, he claimed.
On the horizon
The lander and rover each have five instrumentation. " One lander payload will study the origin of moonquakes. Are they because of meteorite bombardments or for contraction of the moon itself? Another will find the nature of charged particles near the surface. Another will measure the temperature structure on the surface and below the surface. The rover payloads will find the chemical and mineral composition of the lunar soil, rocks and just below the surface,” Prof Raychaudhury explained.
According to Sanjay Nekkanti, chief executive and co-founder of Dhruva Space, the Chandrayaan-3 mission will provide technological challenges, open up new markets, encourage collaborations, draw investments, excite the public, and present the possibility of unique spin-off innovations.
According to Nekkanti, "The growing interest in lunar exploration can create a potential market for products and services including spacecraft components and propulsion systems to lunar surface habitats and rovers,”
In order to address the needs of Indian and international space agencies, research institutions, and other stakeholders involved in lunar missions, startups have already identified these market potential.
He noted that this might open the door for additional mission- and partnership-based collaboration.
“I also see potential for spin-off technologies, which is huge for startups’ R&D and the collective future of human spaceflight. For example, advancements in materials science, communication systems and miniaturised electronics that are required for space travel can find applications in areas like health care, telecommunications and more,” he added.
Private players
Planetary missions won't happen right away for the private sector, according to INSPACe chairman Pawan Goenka. Their initial contribution will be in the satellites, launch vehicles, etc.
“In Chandrayaan-3, the private sector’s role was limited to being a vendor to ISRO. In Aditya L1, India’s mission to the Sun, again it will be a vendor. Aditya L1 will be using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and not the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3). The PSLV will be made by ISRO but with lot of components coming from the private sector,” Goenka said.
Currently, 400 or more vendors collaborate with ISRO. According to Goenka, even the human spaceflight Gaganyaan creates a lot of chances for the sector, but ISRO would retain primary ownership and accountability for it.
He quickly clarified, though, that "the rub off is also on the private industry" when the rest of the world sees what India has accomplished. The firms and agencies would open doors for the private sector, according to Goenka, as Chandrayaan-3 was developed with parts acquired from industry to a great extent. "Investors will have a favourable perception of what India's space sector can achieve. According to him, this will encourage more investment in the private sector.
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