Centre clears Chandrayaan-II lunar mission

Coimbatore: With the Chandrayaan-I lunar mission proving to be an unqualified success in all its operational and mission parameters, the Government of India has accorded its approval for the next, more ambitious, Chandrayaan-II mission, which would launch by 2012. Amongst other things, the mission would also attempt soft landing a rover on the lunar surface.

According to Chandrayaan-I project director Mylaswamy Annadurai, ISRO had begun necessary research work for the next mission and funds for the purpose had already been sanctioned by the Centre.

The second mission would also be fully indigenous, he said.

Chandrayan-I is the best thing to happen to Indian space research, Annadurai said, and is designed to study availability of water and fertility levels of the moon

Annadurai also said that the Chandrayaan-I mission had proved that India was at par with any other nation which had launched similar lunar ventures.

Saying that pictures being received from the moon were providing extremely valuable inputs, Annadurai also said that steps were being initiated to grab continuous pictures by making some technical corrections.

Earlier, the distinguished scientist was felicitated by the public at different places in Coimbatore district for the successful launch of the country's moon mission. Accepting the felicitations, Annadurai exhorted the students to shelve their foreign dreams as opportunities were available within India.

The days of foreign students coming to India in pursuit of research works and higher studies were not far away, he said.