Countdown begins for Chandrayaan-1 launch
Sriharikota,
Andhra
Pradesh,
Oct
20:
The
52-hour
countdown
for
Chandrayaan-1,
India's
first
unmanned
moon
mission
has
begun
at
the
Satish
Dhawan
Space
centre
at
Sriharikota
on
Monday,
Oct
20
early
morning
for
Wednesday,
Oct
22's
historic
launch.
Indian
Space
Research
Organisation(ISRO)
which
has
so
far
specialized
in
putting
satellites
into
the
earth's
orbit,
is
making
it's
first
attempt
to
reach
the
moon.
The
spacecraft
would
be
carrying
11
payloads
(scientific
instruments)
and
weigh
about
1,380
kg
at
the
time
of
its
launch,
according
to
reports.
Chandrayaan-1
satellite
would
orbit
the
Moon
at
an
altitude
of
100
km
mapping
the
topography
and
the
mineralogical
content
of
the
lunar
soil.
Chandrayaan-1
would
also
carry
a
Moon
Impact
Probe
payload
for
demonstrating
the
technology
needed
towards
landing
on
the
Moon's
surface.
India
believes
the
Rs
386-crore
lunar
mission
is
a
step
towards
its
quest
for
exploration
of
outer
space
and
inter-planetary
missions.
Chandrayaan-1 is the first spacecraft mission of ISRO beyond Earth's orbit. It would be followed by Chandrayaan-2 which features a lander and a rover. India and Russia would jointly participate in this project. However, there might be a provision to accommodate payloads from other space agencies as happened in Chandrayaan-1.
The objectives set with the Chandrayaan-1 are
--to expand scientific knowledge about the moon
--to upgrade India's technological capability
--to provide challenging opportunities for planetary research to the younger generation of Indian scientists.
OneIndia News