BANGALORE: Even as India's prestigious space project Chandrayaan takes shape, we may boast of yet another moon mission. A team in a temporary lab in Bangalore is busy preparing to send a robot to the moon in its bid for the Google Lunar X Prize.

The competition is about a privately funded team sending a robot to the moon. The robot should be able to roll at least 500 metres and send high-definition images back to Earth. The first team which pulls it off before December 31, 2015 gets $30million.

Team Indus, consisting of mostly IITians, is the only one from India and works out of the Sasken office in Domlur, East Bangalore. Among the members are a retired Indian Air Force pilot, entrepreneurs and aerospace engineers, some who have quit their jobs for this challenge.

The team has to design a Lander which ferries the Rover (robot) to the moon and commercially buy a PSLV launch vehicle from the Indian Space Research Organisation to deliver its payload into orbit. The launch vehicle could cost around Rs 100 crore.

The team is preparing to draw up the contract with Isro. "There'll be a review to convince Isro to give its launch vehicle to us. The design of key engineering items is nearing completion. Once the design is validated and contract finalized, we'll talk to investors to meet the project cost," Sudip Kar, programme manager, told TOI.

The project cost is around Rs 200 crore. As the rule mandates that 90% of the project should be privately funded, the team is dependent on sponsors, mostly corporates. The team will also look at crowdfunding.

The team has been working on it since December 2010 when they registered for $50,000. The team is mentored by experienced scientists and India's best technical institutions. "The challenges are manifold, including slowing down the Lander, Hum Honge Kamiyab (HHK-1), for a soft landing," said Sudip.

The life span of the Rover is around 96 hours but if all goes as per the plan, it could bring home the grand prize to the team.

Teamspeak

* It's my childhood dream to become an astronaut. I decided not to take up jobs through campus placement. 'Going to moon' is my single-line motivation. There's no other way I'd get a chance to design a mission at my age.

G Nirmal Suraj Kumar | 22, IIT-Kharagpur

* My passion for space technology has superseded my professional career after being in the industry for over 18 years. I realized that I should have a foot print of my own. There are sacrifices made for this mission, but the solace I find ultimately makes up for it."

Sudip Kar | programme manager

* It's every kid's dream -- to reach the moon. But life happens and you keep chasing other things. I stumbled upon this, an opportunity to truly follow one's dream and in the process make a difference. We've fallen flat many times but picked ourselves up and kept moving forward.

Rahul Narayan | team head

