New Delhi Plans Moon Mission By 2008

If Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has his way, India will soon join a very few nations in sending a probe to the moon.

Vajpayee made the announcement in his Independence Day speech Friday. "India is ready to take a big leap in science," Vajpayee said. "I am happy to announce that before 2008 India will send a mission to the moon."

The Chandrayan-1 mission envisages placing a satellite in a polar orbit 60 miles above the moon. The satellite will be launched using a modified version of India's indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The spacecraft will initially be launched into Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit, and subsequently maneuvered into its final lunar orbit using its own propulsion system. The main objectives of Chandrayan-1 include obtaining imagery of the moon's surface using high-resolution remote sensing instruments in the visible, near infrared, low and high-energy X-ray regions. Furthermore, considering the interest expressed by the international scientific community, a provision has also been made to accommodate instruments from other countries.

The mission is expected to cost India $80 million, a tidy sum for a nation still struggling with issues like homelessness and starvation. But, for India, it is a matter of pride. Still, critics say the program is wasteful in the face of India's domestic problems and won't glean any new scientific information.

Only the US and Russia have so far sent probes to the moon. China has announced it will send an unmanned mission to Luna within the next three years.

FMI: www.isro.org