Team Indus, a fledgling aerospace startup, has secured a launch contract with India’s Space Research Organization (ISRO) to send a rover to the Moon as part of the Google-sponsored Lunar XPrize competition. With this announcement, it becomes one of four contenders to have “Verified Launch Contract”. 

The XPrize Foundation verified the contract, which specifies that the Team Indus’s lander and rover are targeting launch in December 2017, atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

After lifting off from India’s Sriharikota High Altitude Range (SHAR) spaceport, the PSLV rocket will insert the Team Indus spacecraft into an elliptical transfer orbit. The spacecraft will then be on its own to embark on a 21-day journey to the Moon. It targeted landing site is the Mare Imbrium region, which also happens to be where China’s first lander touched down in 2013.

One of the requirements of the XPrize competition is that all teams must have an official launch contract and that it must be verified by the foundation. Team Indus is now the fourth team to receive the coveted seal of approval from the XPrize Foundation. Any team not securing a verified contract may not be able to continue in the competition after this year.

In 2015, SpaceIL and Moon Express were the first to announce they had verified launch contracts followed by Synergy Moon in August 2016. A fifth team, PT Scientists announced on November 29 that they struck a deal with Spaceflight Industries to transport their Audi lunar rover to the Moon. However, they are still working with the XPrize foundation to obtain verification status.

The fledgling Team Indus has tied up with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with the aim of hoisting India’s flag through an unmanned spacecraft on the lunar surface on January 26, 2018, the 69th Republic Day. Team Indus, which is gearing towards winning the $20 million Google Lunar X Prize, comprises of a group of more than 100 scientists and engineers, including around a dozen former ISRO scientists. The team is India’s only entry in the Google-funded Lunar XPrize challenge, which has a bounty of $30 million

Through the Google Lunar X Prize competition, the foundation is offering a grand prize of $30 million to the first team who lands on the Moon, travels a minimum distance of 500 meters, and returns photos or videos — all by the end of 2017. A success would make it world’s first-ever privately held company to make a soft landing on the moon. 

Through the Google Lunar X Prize competition, the foundation is offering a grand prize of $30 million to the first team who lands on the Moon, travels a minimum distance of 500 meters, and returns photos or videos — all by the end of 2017. A success would make it world’s first-ever privately held company to make a soft landing on the moon. 

The mission is estimated to cost around $65 million. Team Indus hopes to raise the necessary funds through sponsorships, by selling shares of the company, and through a crowdfunding campaign they expect to launch in January. 

Its top investors include Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group, Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys; and the owners of Flipkart- Sachin and Binny Bansal

Source: Inverse, The Indian Express