PRIME MINISTER ANNOUNCES MISSION TO MOON

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The Chandrayan-1 mission, India’s first spacecraft to moon, announced by the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee yesterday during his Independence Day address, is expected to be ready for launch by 2008, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today. Indigenously developed, it will provide a unique opportunity for frontier scientific research. Chandrayan-1 is expected to be the forerunner of more ambitious planetary missions in the years to come, including landing robots on the moon, and visits by Indian spacecraft to other planets in the solar system.

The Chandrayan-1 mission envisages placing a 525-kg satellite in a polar orbit 100-km above the moon. It will be launched using a modified version of India’s indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The main objectives of Chandrayan-1 include obtaining imagery of the moon’s surface using high-resolution remote sensing. Furthermore, considering the interest expressed by the international scientific community, a provision has also been made to accommodate instruments from other countries.