Chandrayaan I
Chandrayaan-1, (Mooncraft in Sanskrit), is set to be launched in 2007 or latest by 2008. The launch of the 523 kg Chandrayaan spacecraft will mark several milestones for India, including making it the eight country to launch a satellite into orbit. Other countries who precede it include the Soviet Union (1957), US (1958), France (1965), Japan (1970), China (1970), UK (1971), and the European Space Agency (1979), and before Israel (1988) and Iraq (1989).
Post-Chandrayaan, ISRO will be looking to send manned spacecraft within seven years.
Chandrayaan I, is an unmanned lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The mission includes a lunar orbiter as well as an impactor. The spacecraft will be launched by a modified version of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
The remote sensing satellite will weigh 1304 kg (590 kg initial orbit mass and 504 kg dry mass) and carry high resolution remote sensing equipment for visible, near infrared, soft and hard X-ray frequencies. Over a two-year period, it is intended to survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and 3-dimensional topography. The polar regions are of special interest, as they might contain water ice.
The ISRO has identified Mylswamy Annadurai as Project Chief.
The spacecraft is scheduled for launch on October 22 with a window fixed between October 19 and October 28.
They estimate the cost to be INR 3.8 billion (US$ 83 million).
The mission includes five ISRO payloads and six payloads from other international space agencies such as NASA and ESA, and the Bulgarian Aerospace Agency
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