Soil in Sittampundi and Kunnammalai bear similarity to soil on lunar surface

This was useful in conducting trial landings

Earlier soil was imported from USA at the rate of 150 dollars per Kg

Sittampundi and Kunnamallai, 2 villages in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu turned out to be cost effective alternatives for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in order to test the Chandrayaan rover’s landing. For this purpose, they were on the lookout for sand which bears similarity to the lunar soil in terms of texture and composition. 

“It had similar mineralogy, chemistry, grain size and geotechnical properties like that of the soil on the moon,” S.Anbazhagan, professor and head of the geology department at Periyar University in Salem had said in an interaction with The Print. 

“ISRO scientists needed to study how the lander would sit on lunar soil, and how the rover could move without any friction and other aspects,” he added. 

Earlier the soil was imported from the U.S.A at the cost of 150 dollars per Kg. 

“After speaking with the top officials, we took the rocks from these places and crushed it to sand at a crusher near Salem. This was then taken to the ISRO labs and used to make a replica of the moon for carrying out the rover landing test,” Chandrayaan 2’s former director Mylswamy Annadurai said in an interaction with The New Indian Express. 

The villagers were thrilled at the prospect of having played a role in India’s scientific endeavour. 

“Our name has been published and is being repeated across the country and the world,” a farmer said in an interaction with The Print.