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Chandrayan I
In 2007-08, India will launch Chandrayan I, which will be closely followed by China's CHANGE-I. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is spear-heading all the activities in the field. Chandrayan I, India's first unmanned mission to moon was announced on August 15, 2003. The Chandrayan I mission envisages placing a 525 kg satellite in a polar orbit 100 km above the moon and it will be launched using a modified version of India's indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The main objectives of the Chandrayan include obtaining imagery of the moon's surface using a high resolution remote sensing instruments in the visible, near infrared, low and high energy X-ray region. Considering the interest shown by the international scientific community, a provision has also been made to accommodate instruments from other countries, on Chandrayan-1. ISRO signed an agreement with ESA for including European instruments on board Chandrayan-1. The European Instruments are to complement the main India experiments. The US is also considering placing up two instruments on Chandrayan-1. Whether India should embark on a manned mission or not is a subject of national debate since sending a man to the moon is a very costly affair. A manned mission would take seven to ten years to accomplish and would cost at least$2.2 billion. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com mesengg.info |
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