Team Indus, Only Indian Team in Google's Moon Landing Contest, coming to Kuwait for Shaastrotsav

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Team Indus - the only Indian team attempting to win the Google Lunar X Prize mission announced in 2007. The mission, often referred to as "Moon 2.0", is a challenge that calls for participating teams to design and land a spacecraft on the Moon. The craft is required to travel more than 500 meters (1,600 ft) on the lunar surface and send photographs to Earth. The deadline of the competition, which initially attracted entries from over 30 teams from 17 countries, is 31 March 2018. There are various prizes, including a main prize of US$20 million.

Founded by IIT-Delhi alumnus Rahul Narayan, Team Indus is currently among the top five - down from 32 competitive companies across the world - it is the only team from India to get this far in the competition. Team Indus will be the main attraction of Shaastrotsav – Festival of Science on 8th December 2017 organized by NSS College of Engineering (Palakkad) Alumni Association in association with Indiansinkuwait.com

Bangalore-based Team Indus has been working for years to build and develop the spacecraft and rover, named ECA for "Ek Choti si Asha" ("a small dream"), which will possibly skirt the surface of the moon early next year. To be bundled in an indigenously-built spacecraft, the four-wheeled aluminium robot will be launched aboard an ISRO's PSLV rocket from Sriharikota in the first half of 2018.

Team Indus' anthem is 'Har Indian Ka Moonshot', a call for every Indian to dream big and claim their shot at the moon.

"We could still fail between now and launch... This is a fascinating story waiting to happen." Today, Team Indus is in the final phase of the launch and determined to make India proud.

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