India's moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, slated for launch in Q3 2008: ISRO chief

Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said it will launch the moon probe, Chandrayaan-I, in the third quarter of this year. Chandrayaan-1, a 500 kg satellite, will orbit the moon for a period of two years on its mission to map the lunar terrain and its surface.

"It is too early to attempt a human-landing mission on the moon. We will be sending a 500 kg satellite for terrain mapping and lunar surface mapping. The satellite will survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and 3-dimensional topography," ISRO chairman, G Madhavan Nair, told a press conference at Sriharikota on Monday, soon after ISRO successfully orbited a record number of 10 satellites.

"All the instruments for Chandrayaan-I are ready. A few tests have to be conducted, following which we will be ready for the launch in the third quarter of this year. A special vehicle of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) called the PSLV-XL is being prepared for it. The weight of the strap-on thrusters will increase from nine to 12 tonnes. All the six motors are ready," he said.

Nair also revealed that India's first manned space flight could be expected to take place in seven years, after three unmanned flights with the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-III configuration.

"We will be able to put two persons on a lower earth orbit," he said. "We have submitted our project proposal to the government and the Centre has already released Rs95 crore for the project. We are awaiting the approval for the project in another six months."