India To Enter Space Race | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Sun, Aug 17, 2003

India To Enter Space Race

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

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.10.25): Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) [ICAO]

Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) [ICAO] Area navigation based on performance requirements for aircraft operating along an ATS route, on an instrument approach procedure or in a d>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Cessna 172

The Airplane Came To Rest Underneath A Set Of Damaged Power Distribution Lines On The Floor Of A Coulee On June 19, 2025, at 1412 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172K airplane, N7>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.10.25)

Aero Linx: FAA Managers Association (FAAMA) Recognized by the FAA, FAAMA is a professional association dedicated to the promotion of excellence in public service. The Association i>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: The Big Business of Diminutive Powerplants

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Jet Central Micro-Turbine Engines Impress Founded in the late-1990s, Mexico City-based Jet Central produces a unique and fascinating line of micro-turb>[...]

Airborne 07.11.25: New FAA Bos, New NASA Boss (Kinda), WB57s Over TX

Also: ANOTHER Illegal Drone, KidVenture Educational Activities, Record Launches, TSA v Shoes The Senate confirmed Bryan Bedford to become the next Administrator of the FAA, in a ne>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC