Space
Periyar University gets patent for lunar soil manufacturing
- A team of researchers from Periyar University along with (ISRO) and NIT, Tiruchi, has received patent for the lunar soil manufacturing process developed by them for Chandrayaan-2 mission.
- The team manufactured ‘Lunar’ simulant soil from ‘anorthosite’ rock collected from Sithampoondi and Kunnamalai villages in Namakkal.
- The lunar simulant soil was essential to conduct various tests as part of the mission.
- ISRO applied for patent rights in 2014 and after thorough processing, the patent was granted to the team on May 2020.
- Besides economic benefits, the patent would help in further research in resource utilisation and lunar mission explorations.
Background
- The team led by S.Anbalagan, Director of Centre for Geoinformatics and Planetary studies in Periyar University, helped ISRO identify and produce the ‘lunar’ simulant soil for its lander and rover tests for the Chandrayaan mission.
- They have been conducting research on anorthosite soil even before the Chandrayaan mission. Mayilswamy Annadurai, then Director of ISRO came to know about this and he formed a task force in ISRO.
