*What has a little Church in Kerala got to do with India's Space journey to the Moon?*

*What has a little Church in Kerala got to do with India's Space journey to the Moon?* In 1962, scientists Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, Dr. Homi Bhabha and their team, which included young Dr. Abdul Kalam, were scouting around looking for an ideal place to set up India's first Space Research Station. Deep down in Kerala, between the coast and a railway line, they came across a red stone Church, in a tiny hamlet called Thumba. The Church was dedicated to Mary Magdalene, the woman whom Jesus appeared to first, after his resurrection. The Church was located at the most ideal spot for a Space Research Station, because it was almost exactly on the wavy magnetic Equator (different from the geographical Equator), where the Earth's magnetic field was weakest. The scientists approached the local Bishop of Trivandrum, Reverend Peter Bernard Pereira who invited them to Sunday Mass, to address the parishioners, who were mostly fisherfolk. After the Mass, Bhabha and Sarabhai explained their case to the parishioners and requested that the church land, including the Church, be handed over to them for India's first Space Research Station. The parishioners agreed. The Church, along with 90 acres of church land were given over to the scientists and 183 families living on the land, also relocated. A new church was built for them within a short time. The Bishop's quarters became the office of the Thumba Space Station and the Church became its workshop. The sandalwood statue of Mary Magdalene remained where it was, on the altar looking down on the rocket scientists building India's first space rockets. The Thumba Church still stands today, but it has been turned into a Space museum. Dr. Abdul Kalam, the soft spoken, academic and "rocket man" of India, mentions this true story in his book. The thing to admire here, was that a Hindu (Sarabhai), a Parsi (Bhabha) and a Muslim (Abdul Kalam) made the request to the Christians, who willingly gave up their Church for a National cause. So, while celebrating our Nation's Moon landing, lets also remember the Thumba villagers who gave up their church and their land for our Nation's future glory.