Moon at your doorstep! Giant Lunar replica unveiled at Gateway of India, Mumbai

Travel freaks should start packing their bags as Mumbai's Gateway of India is offering yet another mind-boggling visual treat apart from the arched monument erected during the 20th century in Bombay.

Yes! A 23-foot-wide replica of the Moon, half million times smaller than the real celestial body was on Saturday unveiled at Gateway of India and people in and around Mumbai are going crazy to catch a glimpse of this startling site. 

British artist Luke Jerram is the gem behind such a historical creation and the replica has been created using imagery from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera.

The Museum of the Moon, as it's known, is a miniature replica and is currently on a tour of India, with a two-day stopover in Mumbai, Saturday and Sunday.

The principal reason behind this beautiful creation is to give audiences a feel of earth’s only satellite, where man first landed successfully on July 20, 1969.

Meanwhile, the replica comes a year before the golden jubilee of the historic moon landing accomplished by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin.

“For eons, the moon has impacted society and culture, it's been worshipped as a deity, used as a timekeeper, inspired artists, poets, scientists, writers and musicians worldwide,” Jerram was quoted while interacting with IANS.

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He said before gas lamps and electricity, the moon was the only source of light at night, plus it was used for navigation, but living in cities now illuminated heavily by electricity, “we have become disconnected to the moon.”

“I hope this project restores a sense of wonder, inspires questions and reconnects people with the night sky,” Jerram said of the project supported by the Maharashtra Government.

The Museum of the Moon is also expected to feature different space-themed lectures on topics like Women in Space, Life Beyond Earth: Prospects and Possibilities, Going Back to the Moon and Landing on a Comet and many others.

Top British scientists including Prof. Monica Gardy, Professor of Planetary and Space Science, Open University will take part in some of those amazing lectures of the Museum.

After Bangalore and Mumbai, the Museum of the Moon will drool New Delhi and Kolkata people over its beauty, according to a spokesperson from the British Council.

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The Museum of the Moon is being created to mark 70 years of the British Council in India.