November 14, 2009 12:01 am India Time

Today is the 1st Anniversary of Chandrayaan-1’s Moon Impact Probe reaching the Lunar Surface with the tricolor Flag of India painted on all four sides. – India was on the Moon! This date (of the impact) was chosen to honor former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s Birthday. In his term, India’s Space Program was launched in 1962.

On this day, we are pleased to announce the formation of The Moon Society of India as an Autonomous Affiliate of The Moon Society (International)

The founding Executive Committee has elected Jayashree Sridhar (Chennai) as President, with Pradeep Mohandas (Mumbai) as Secretary. Also involved are Srinivas Laxman (Mumbai) and Avinash Siravuru (Vellore).

We will also be forming a Board of Advisors; in addition to prominent Indians, , Peter Kokh, David Dunlop, and Madhu Thangavelu from the International Moon Society International will be included.

Our priorities include starting a network of chapters throughout India, both city- and campus-based, and in the coming year, to assume publication of the MMM-India Quarterly, which publication has made this event possible.

We will be involved in conferences, contests and competitions, and hope to build and operate an Indian Lunar Analog Research Station – LARS-India.

And, of course, our efforts will focus on building public support within India for the ISRO’s Space Exploration and Manned Space Programs.

Watch upcoming issues of “M3IQ” for more news and progress reports.

The Moon Society congratulates Moon Society India and this auspicious occasion.

We will work with Moon Society India to promote exploration of the Moon, both robotic and human, the establishment of an International Lunar Research Park (under whatever name) and earliest utilization of lunar resources, involving settlement, for the benefit of all mankind.