Lok Sabha MP Asks If An Indian Spacecraft Was Planning To Brew Beer On The Moon

Away from all the talk about the performance of parties in the recently-concluded state assembly elections and the ongoing Chief Minister appointments, an unusual question asked in India’s lower house, the Lok Sabha, has caught many off guard.

All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) Member of Parliament (MP) Sisir Kumar Adhikari asked to know “whether an Indian Spacecraft is planning to brew beer on the moon.” If it were the case, the MP wanted to know the details of the research and the “viability of yeast test therefore”.

Union minister Jitendra Singh responded to the question with a nay – presumably to the dismay of readers reading this. “There is no plan to brew beer on the moon by any spacecraft to be made by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),” said Singh.

However, the Minister of State added, Team Indus, a privately-funded team vying for the Google Lunar XPRIZE by building a spacecraft capable of soft-landing and roving on the Moon, “is proposing an experiment to brew beer on the Moon using yeast”. This spacecraft is set to be launched on board ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

That’s as far as the intriguing Government-ISRO-beer connection goes, we’re afraid. Maybe someday.

Also Read: Space Technology Startup TeamIndus Signs Momentous Contract With ISRO For Its Moon Mission