India to launch Chandrayaan-1 moon mission in October
19/9/2008 17:00
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced yesterday that it is
all set to launch the country's first unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 to the
moon, according to the Indian Express today.
The spacecraft is scheduled for
launch on October 22, five years after the Indian government cleared the
project. It will make an entry into the lunar atmosphere for a two-year
mission.
It will be loaded with six Indian and five foreign scientific
instruments.
It has overcome a major hurdle in the form of extreme
temperature tests over the past fortnight. Now its launch is dependent on
weather factors, said ISRO moon mission director Annadurai.
"Weather is a key
issue. We are watching for forecasts closer to the tentative launch dates,"
Annadurai said. Chandrayaan-1 would take approximately eight days to course the
nearly 386,000 km to get to its final orbit -- 100 km from the moon.
If
weather plays spoilsport and the late October launch is postponed we would have
to wait for dates in November or December when the trajectories of the moon and
Chandrayaan-1 will intersect again, he said.
Chandrayaan mission is seen as
major step in acknowledging India's existence in space.
Xinhua
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