India's moon mission lauded in Dhaka daily

Applauding India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission and the discovery of water on the moon, a Dhaka daily has said the find has significantly widened the scope for space research.

But The Daily Star newspaper, in an editorial Saturday, cautioned against rivalry among those engaged in research and exploration on the moon.

'The old big powers and the newly emerging ones like India and China have therefore a big stake in ensuring that the pristine moon may not turn into an object of future rivalry among them in the future.

'As in the case of space, we are for peaceful use of the moon for carrying out further exploration. We are for keeping the moon forever as a shining spot of hope and dream in the sky,' the newspaper said.

'Water is important for any planet or its satellite within or without the solar system to host life in any of its forms. Existence of water anywhere beyond the earth is of prime concern also for reasons of sustainability of manned missions there.

'From that point of view, any concrete proof that water exists in our nearest celestial object, the moon, is great news for the entire mankind, let alone for the space scientists,' the editorial said.