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India will launch its first unmanned mission to the Moon on 22 October, the country's space officials say, weather conditions permitting.
The spacecraft, named Chandrayaan-1, will orbit the Moon, surveying its surface with high-resolution equipment.
The launch had been scheduled for April, but was pushed back due to technical problems.
The project will cost $83m and has the direct involvement of six other countries, including the US and Europe.
Over the next two years, it will survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and its three-dimensional topography.
The European Space Agency (Esa) is supporting the mission, supplying three instruments.
These will investigate the Moon's surface and near-surface composition, and the way the lunar body interacts with the fast-moving particles streaming away from the Sun.
Chandrayaan-1 will also drop a small impact probe on to the lunar surface to test its properties.
'Over ambitious'
India announced its Moon mission in 2003.
It has also announced plans to send a man to the Moon in the next few years.
The government's lunar activities have not been welcomed by all, however.
Critics say it is "over ambitious" and a "waste of resources" in a country where millions still lack basic services.
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India will launch its first unmanned mission to the Moon on 22 October, the country's space officials say, weather conditions permitting.
The spacecraft, named Chandrayaan-1, will orbit the Moon, surveying its surface with high-resolution equipment.
The launch had been scheduled for April, but was pushed back due to technical problems.
The project will cost $83m and has the direct involvement of six other countries, including the US and Europe.
Over the next two years, it will survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and its three-dimensional topography.
The European Space Agency (Esa) is supporting the mission, supplying three instruments.
These will investigate the Moon's surface and near-surface composition, and the way the lunar body interacts with the fast-moving particles streaming away from the Sun.
Chandrayaan-1 will also drop a small impact probe on to the lunar surface to test its properties.
'Over ambitious'
India announced its Moon mission in 2003.
It has also announced plans to send a man to the Moon in the next few years.
The government's lunar activities have not been welcomed by all, however.
Critics say it is "over ambitious" and a "waste of resources" in a country where millions still lack basic services.
Discuss
Add this link to...
Tell a friend
Bury
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