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A ground-breaking space project which is being talked about across the globe is the brainchild of a Faversham man.
David Iron, who has lived in The Mall for more than 11 years, is the face and drive behind the celebrated Lunar Mission One.
The revolutionary project will send an unmanned spacecraft to land on the little-known South Pole of the moon and the first ever lecture on the project took place on Friday, in its birthplace – Faversham.
Inside the spacecraft will be a drill, which is at the heart of this venture and will drive down up to 100 metres beneath the moon’s surface – something that has never been done before.
It will give scientists an insight into lunar rock, which is billions of years old, and it will also give them an opportunity to see if a manned base could be installed at the pole, as well as being a route to other discoveries.
The mocked-up drill David has made has just three words on it – MADE IN FAVERSHAM.
Video: David Iron is leading Moon Mission One
David, who spoke to KentOnline this week, said: “This idea originated here in Faversham. I was out in my garden in 2008 when suddenly I had that light bulb moment.
“My first thought was that this is a crazy idea, but then I realised it could actually work. It is a worldwide project, but it was conceived in Faversham.”
Making this out-of-this-world adventure even more unique, its next stage is completely funded by the general public, hitting their initial £600,000 target in just four weeks with donations from more than 7,000 people from 60 different countries.
“My first thought was that this is a crazy idea, but then I realised it could actually work. It is a worldwide project, but it was conceived in Faversham...” - David Iron
In return, the supporters from all over the world will have a chance to have their DNA – in the form of a strand of hair – placed in what David calls the “ultimate time capsule”, to be buried under the moon’s surface.
David said: “It’s been a difficult and very long process and this is now my absolute focus, something I work on day in, day out.
“I have had a lot of support but there have also been lots of sceptics and times when I wanted to give up and close the project down.
“But now I have a momentum of great support and there’s no turning back.”
On Friday, David addressed an audience at the Alexander Centre, in the first ever open lecture of his innovative ideas.
Just a few Faversham people knew about David’s ideas before they were announced in November and one man he had shared his ambitions with was the late town historian Arthur Percival.
David said: “Arthur and I had spoken about this, and how the Faversham Society would participate, some time ago.
“A few months before the announcement, I asked him if the society wanted to host the world’s first public event on Lunar Mission One in recognition that it had stemmed from the town.
“We decided we would run the event, but just two days before the project went public, Arthur died quite unexpectedly.”
The lecture was called the Arthur Percival Memorial Lecture and president of the society Richard Oldfield and MP Hugh Robertson co-hosted alongside David.
Anna Bales on behalf of the society said: “We are very proud to be hosting the Lunar Mission One lecture, another first for Faversham.
“Arthur Percival was very interested in this project and it is important to the society and to the people of Faversham, that his vision becomes a reality.”
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