A stunning seven-meter replica of the moon is attracting significant attention at the ongoing India International Science Festival (IISF) at IIT Guwahati. Created by British artist Luke Jerram, the installation, titled “The Museum of Moon,” features detailed lunar surface images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The inflatable balloon’s design scales each centimeter to represent about five kilometers of the moon’s surface, showcasing craters and mountains with exceptional realism.
ISRO Chairman Dr. S. Somanath lauded the replica, stating that the space agency might collaborate with artists to create a similar model. He emphasized India’s critical role in lunar exploration, noting, “India has the best images of the lunar surface and has been supplying them to whoever is asking for them. The world’s space agencies are using them for landing on the Moon.”
While the Shiv Shakti point, where India’s Vikram Lander from the Chandrayaan-3 mission landed, is not specifically marked on the installation, visitors can still visualize India’s historic achievement of landing near the unexplored south pole of the moon. The images captured by the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which provided high-resolution lunar surface imagery, are used globally.
India’s future plans include the Chandrayaan-4 mission, which will aim to collect moon samples near the Shiv Shakti point.
The India International Science Festival is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and VIBHA (Vigyan Bharati), with around 8,000 delegates expected to attend the event.
