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Projects: International Lunar Decade

To India and Hawaii to Present the International Lunar Decade

by Louis D. Friedman

The Planetary Society is committed to involving our members on every mission going to another world -- and, in the last few weeks, we have traveled to two ends of the Earth in pursuit of that goal.

During the first week of December, I went to Bangalore, India and presented the International Lunar Decade (ILD) to the Indian Space Research Organization -- India's space agency. I also presented ideas for public involvement in their upcoming Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission and for international cooperation among all lunar missions.

I was very pleased to be received by Indian Space Research Organization Chairman Madhavan Nair and the leader of their lunar program, Jayati Datta. They spoke to me about the upcoming Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter mission scheduled to launch in 2008 and told me about follow-on ambitions for a lunar lander and sample return mission. They also expressed interest in initiating an Indian human spaceflight program, perhaps with the goal of sending humans to the Moon. They are also thinking about robotic missions to Mars, although probably not before the end of the next decade.

India has long been a leader in space applications. It is noteworthy that they now see expanding space science and planetary exploration as important steps in their country's technological and economic development.

At quite a different end of the Earth, our Director of Projects, Bruce Betts attended the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) planning meeting in Hawaii at the end of November. There, Bruce presented several ideas for public participation in upcoming lunar missions. He also gave a presentation about the International Lunar Decade and discussed our international cooperation goals with representatives of various lunar missions.

We are presenting the ILD to NASA and other space agencies with the aim of it being a topic of discussion for international cooperation in 2007. In the early 1980s, I initiated and led the International Halley Watch and saw advantages for both space missions and individual scientists by providing a mechanism to support international cooperation and coordination. We hope, an International Lunar Decade can help in similar ways.

The U.S. lunar goals -- in which they hope to engage other nations -- include a human return to the Moon and a lunar base, along with supporting and precursor robotic missions. Although I question the lunar base goal, we recognize that the Moon is a stepping stone into the solar system and a spring board for national technological programs. The many participants in these efforts will all be part of an active and, we hope, vibrant International Lunar Decade.