Commercial Lunar Project Seeks Alliance With
India, Russia
Backers of HarvardSpace-led
Kennedy II Lunar Project make overtures to widen scope of
international Moon exploration mission
NEW DELHI, January 6 /Media:Luna/
— The directors of a proposed commercial lunar exploration
project have announced that they are seeking the assistance of
India and Russia in pursuit of attaining their goal.
Offering financial backing that may
make their proposal more attractive to the cash-strapped Russian
and Indian space agencies, HarvardSpace LLC hopes that a joint venture
will help put the project on a fast track to the Moon.
"The Indian Space Research
Organisation and the Russian space agency, Rosviakosmos, have the
technical capability and physical facilities required to initiate
a lunar mission," a spokesperson for the company said. "Both have
aspirations of returning humans to the Moon. The difficulty lies
in their lack of available funding."
Through private investments,
entitlements and a plan to offer land claims to property on the
Moon, HarvardSpace believes that the project has the potential to attract the
estimated $3.8-billion (USD) required to return humans to the
Moon. The company hopes to accomplish its goal within a dozen
years.
When contacted, an Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) official refused to confirm, but
added that they were talking to several other countries.
The
HarvardSpace commercial venture, dubbed the Kennedy
II Lunar Exploration Project, or K2LX, is still in its
infancy, but is making rapid progress.
"Interest in the program is
growing," the spokesperson said, "and we have had positive
discussions with several independent aerospace contractors who
have expressed an interest in participating with us in this
project."
HarvardSpace would not disclose the
names of the contractors prior to having formal agreements in
place, but noted that the hoped-for alliance with the Indian and
Russian space agencies would go a long way toward making the
project a reality.
"We had set a timetable of ten
years for reaching the Moon with an unmanned probe," said the
spokesperson. "That timetable could be moved up exponentially,
from 2013 to 2007 or even 2006, if the joint venture with Russia,
India and our team can be accomplished. The technology is at our
fingertips. We simply need to provide the energy to put it in
motion."
The three-phase Kennedy 2 Project
currently proposes to follow its unmanned lunar exploration
mission with a manned return to the Moon by 2015, with the
establishment of permanent settlements and scientific facilities
to follow.
SOURCE: Financial
Express (India)
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