AKIPRESS.COM - Four scientists, including a woman, of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany (BSIP), Lucknow, India, will be amongst the first Indians to be part of Spaceward Bound programme 2016. The programme is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to study similarities in Ladakh and Mars vis-a-vis their topography and microbial life, reports Times of India.

The programme is part of the project to educate future space explorers through research expedition to places with extreme climate conditions like Mars. The research expedition will begin in August this year. The team of 31 scientists will also include scientists from NASA, the Mars Society, Australia, and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. The four scientists from BSIP are Mukund Sharma, Arif Hussain Ansari, Binita Phartiyal and Randheer Singh. "Ladakh have been selected due to geological features like deserts, permafrosts, glaciers and saline lakes that are similar to those on Mars. Our scientists have covered this region," said Mukund Sharma. Previous Spaceward bound expeditions have earlier been conducted in Mojave deserts, Antartica and Arctic among others.

The project will motivate Indian students and young scientists to explore newer frontiers of knowledge, and will add further impetus to scientific research in the country.