NEW DELHI: The Indian Government will fund a project to launch an indigenous satellite, Munal, for Nepal. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of External Affairs and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) for ‘grant assistance’ of the satellite today.
Munal has been developed in Nepal under the aegis of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). A Nepali space startup, Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN), has assisted Nepali students in the design and fabrication of the satellite. The satellite aims to build a vegetation density database of the Earth’s surface.
The satellite is expected to be launched on NSIL’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle soon. The MoU was signed by Anurag Srivastava, JS (North) from MEA, and Arunachalam A, Director, NSIL.