TWO TAMIL NADU VILLAGES HAVE PLAYED MAJOR ROLE IN CHANDRAYAAN 2 MISSION!

While Chandrayaan 2’s lander Vikram is all set to decide on the exact landing spot on the moon between 1.30 am and 2.30 am tomorrow (Saturday) when it would be 100 m above the Lunar surface, it’s high time we get to know how two villages near Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu are helping its landing.

According to Chandrayaan 2’s former director Mylswamy Annadurai, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) bought 10kg of soil for $150 per kg that matched moon’s surface for testing Chandrayaan 1’s landing. In 2010, the rover landing tests for Chandrayaan 2 needed 60-70 kg of sand. But this time, the scientists looked for alternative options as buying from the USA again would push the mission’s budjet.

Later, it was found that two villages near Namakkal -- Sittampoondi and Kunnamalai -- match their need. “After speaking with the top officials, we took the rocks from these places free of cost and crushed it to sand at a crusher near Salem. This was then taken to the ISRO labs and used to make a replica of the moon for carrying out the rover landing test,” Annadurai was quoted as saying by the New Indian Express.

The villagers who contributed soil from their lands were happy after getting to know that they have played a role in ISRO’s research.