joining me now from california is bidushi bhattacharya, a former nasa scientist who now runs her owny corporation. thank you very much forjoining us. what an exciting moment. give us some context about why this is such a big deal. i am really excited to be here. this is the fourth country thatis be here. this is the fourth country that is going to land on the moon and the thing with india is you have all these innovations coming in under cost so it is a fantastic opportunity not only for a technology but are bringing and research from around the world so we have a collaborative opportunity on a global scale and i have to say from the commercial standpoint this is rather fantastic because all the work that is being done right now is easier to understand the moon and help us build colonies in the future. how will this help us understand them men that are? they have instruments on board that will look at the lunar surface to look for minerals and map of the moon in detail and we have a general sense of what the man is about but only four countries have landed there and it isa four count

bidushi bhattacharya, a former nasa scientist who now runs her own space technology corporation.een following it on very quickly, as has most of the world, and i just can't wait to see it happen. they have taken what has been built on by nasa and the european space agency, and they've taken things to the next level. they can are able to do things more efficiently and more affordably, which means we are building out the global ecosystem much faster than i think nasa would have predicted. much faster than i think nasa would have predicted. we actually need the commercial sector to come on board. so people who are trained all over the world are coming to india to contribute and the indians also, i think, are spreading out stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a new way of caring for people with dementia — a village where residents can wander freely and safely. she received a nobel peace prize for her work with the poor and the dying in india's slums. the head of the catholic church said mother teresa was "a wonderful example of how to help people in need." we have to identify the

bidushi bhattacharya, a former nasa scientist she can't wait to see it happen.g it, as has most of the world, and i cannot wait to see it happen. they can do things more efficiently and affordably which means we are building the global ecosystem faster than predict by nasa. and we need the commercial sector to come on board. so people who are trained all over the world are coming to india to contribute and indians also are spreading out and providing knowledge on a global scale. people are looking to mine the moon and in the long—term, what will drive space technology development these days will be a combination of political will and economic return. for political will, the deal about who gets there first and does it best but from an economic perspective we need to work out how to monetise the resources we find on the moon and if we can find anything there they can bring back here affordably to benefit people here, that will be the clincher. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the first female rapper to officially sell 100 million albums and singles — nicki

bidushi bhattacharya, a former nasa scientist who now runs her own space technology corporation saidllowing it, as has most of the world, and i cannot wait to see it happen. why does it matter? it matters because they have taken what has been built by nasa and the esa and taken it to the next level. they can do things more efficiently and affordably which means we are building the global ecosystem faster than predict by nasa. there has been a lot of talk about the anniversary of the moon landing for the united states not so long ago. i am wondering when it comes to india, are they working with other countries or is this something really about national pride when it comes to this particular landing? i cannot speak from a government perspective but as someone who used to work for the government who is now in the commercial sector i will tell you that we cannot do it alone, no nation can. and we need the commercial sector to come on board. so people who are trained all over the world are coming to india to contribute and indians also was spreading out and providing knowledge on a global