Earlier considered the 'new kid on the block', the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is leaving no stone unturned to change that image.
From launching 104 satellites at one go to taking the lead in providing energy security, ISRO has successfully established itself as a forerunner in the space race.
Now, in its latest move, ISRO is working on mining lunar dust, which is rich in Helium, and transport it back to India.
Sivanthu Pillai, an ISRO scientist who earlier worked as the chief of the Indo-Russian venture, BrahMos Aerospace, revealed the plan at a conference, saying that all India's energy requirements could be met by Helium-3 mined from the moon.
With an aim to help India meet its energy needs from the moon by 2030, the move will help India cut down on its oil imports.
According to Pillai, the upper layer of the moon’s surface, Regolith, has abundant Helium 3 to meet the energy requirements of the entire planet and not just India. An isotope of Helium, Helium 3 can fuel nuclear reactors to provide an enormous amount of power without any harmful carbon emissions or radioactive products, Sputnik News reported.
In the backdrop of India’s plan to cut down import dependence in hydrocarbons by 10 percent by 2022, this lunar dust mining plan comes with a lot of hopes riding on its potential success
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