Isro, Moon Village Association tie up for Chandrayaan-3 outreach

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has joined hands with Vienna-based NGO Moon Village Association (MVA) to host global outreach activities in connection with Isro’s upcoming lunar mission Chandrayaan-3.

The partnership is aimed at increasing the impact of Isro’s lunar programme at a global level and ensuring further international cooperation, Isro said. It will focus on the global aspect of lunar exploration and “identify, communicate, and encourage” the youth to focus on the benefits every lunar mission brings to the world, the space agency said.

Webinars will be held to brief the global audience about the mission and the challenges and opportunities it entails.

Video contest for students

Under the collaboration, a global competition will be held for videos that wish success to the Chandrayaan-3 mission and discuss the mission’s importance to India and the Global Moon Exploration and Settlement.

Submissions from students across the world will be accepted and evaluated in two categories — ages 13-17 and 18-21. The participants are required to submit original, unpublished two to three minute MP4 videos, in English, on the topic ‘Importance of Chandrayaan-3 Mission for India and the Global Moon Exploration and Settlement’. Registration ends on May 31.

The submission guidelines and details of the prizes are available on www.moonvillageassociation.org .

Giuseppe Reibaldi, president, MVA, said the collaboration will demonstrate the relevance of MVA as a platform to multiply national lunar programme outreach efforts.

MVA, founded in 2017, was envisioned to create a permanent global informal forum for stakeholders, including governments, industry, academia and the public, interested in the development of the Moon Village.

The NGO comprises more than 600 participants and 27 institutional members from more than 60 countries, representing technical, scientific, cultural, and interdisciplinary fields.

Sudheer Kumar N, director, Capacity Building and Public Outreach, Isro headquarters, said Chandrayaan-3 will be an important milestone in India’s space programme and demonstrate critical technologies to land the spacecraft on the south pole of the moon.

“The mission encompasses critical technologies that should reach the global youth to encourage the scientific temperament on lunar missions,” he said.