Tuesday, October 21, 2008

India's Moon Mission


The PSLV-C11 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), Chandrayaan-1 sits on the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan space centre at Sriharikota, about 100 km (62 miles) north of the southern Indian city of Chennai, October 11, 2008. Chandrayaan-1 is India's first mission to moon(Babu/Reuters).


In these undated photos provided by the Indian Space Research Organization, Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden lunar mission, is taken to the launch pad in this undated photo at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) north of Chennai, India. India was set to launch its first lunar mission from the center in southern India at 06:20 a.m (0050 GMT) Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008, putting the country in an elite group of nations with the scientific know-how to reach the moon, but also heating up a burgeoning Asian space race. The 3,000 pound (1,400 kilogram) satellite Chandrayaan-1 ("Moon Craft" in ancient Sanskrit) will join Japanese and Chinese crafts currently in orbit around the moon for a two-year mission designed to map out the whole lunar surface (AP Photo/ Indian Space Research Organization, HO).

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