To get a 'feel of Planet Mars', head to Lonar in Vidarbha

MUMBAI: Mumbaikars dreaming of setting foot on the Red Planet have a cause to celebrate: they need not get themselves strapped into a rocket and fly for eight or nine months to reach their dream destination. All they have to do is to proceed to Buldhana in Maharashtra and then head to a lake and crater called Lonar which is about 500km from Mumbai.
This was stated by Siddarth Pandey, an aerospace engineer, while talking to TOI on Saturday, after giving a presentation at Space Geeks, an organisation which focusses on astronomy and space.
Pandey, who has just become the head of the newly established astrobiology centre of Amity University near Mumbai, said that in a number of ways the environments of Lonar and Mars were similar. "I and my team members returned from Lonar last night and we are of the view that it could be a good Mars analog centre," he said.
The other team members who were present at Saturday's meeting held at a Khar pub were Jonathan Clarke of Mars Society, Australia; Jennifer Blank, Blue Marble Space Institute of Science; and Annalea Beattle, Mars Society, Australia.
Lonar was formed as a result of a meteorite impact which occurred between 35,000 and 50,000 years ago.
According to Pandey-also a member of Mars Society, Australia-Lonar could be utilised for training for Mars robotic missions and also possibly future manned flights to the Red Planet. "It is a natural lab for future Mars missions," he said, while pointing out the craters of Lonar and Mars were alike in basalt rock.
He said that Lonar can yield useful data about the geology of Mars and the place can also be used for testing Mars rovers.
Jonathan Clarke said that Lonar has gullies and rivers similar to those of Mars. "Lonar gives an indication of what early Mars was like and it can help in future Mars exploration," he said.