India Aims for The Moon this Year

Nobody is waiting for NASA to do space exploration.  India is slowly and gradually developing a moon progam and is in a race, although nobody seems to be in a hurry to win the race to the moon anymore.  China and Europe also continue with some fanfare. 

http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Indian_PM_Aims_For_The_Stars_And_The_Moon_999.html

Indian PM Aims For The Stars And The Moon

by Staff Writers New Delhi, India (PTI) Aug 18, 2008

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that India hopes to send a spacecraft to the moon this year and called it 'an important milestone'. that India must reach soon. Speaking from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Delhi on Friday as a part of the country's 61st Independence Day celebrations, the Prime Minister said, "This year we hope to send an Indian spacecraft, Chandrayaan, to the moon," Singh said in his Independence Day address to the nation from the rampart of the majestic Red Fort. Singh said the launch of Chandrayaan will be an important milestone in the development of the country's space programme.

The unmanned mission, which will orbit the moon for two years, is expected to be launched in October by indigenously developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. Space scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have completed the integration of the 11 instruments -- six indigenous and five under international cooperation -- onto the spacecraft. The spacecraft, which is no bigger than a typical office cubicle, is currently undergoing tests for its ability to handle the extreme thermal and vacuum environment experienced in a lunar orbit. These assessments will be followed by vibration and acoustic tests. Meanwhile, India has already begun work on the next lunar mission in which space scientists plan to land a rover on the surface on the moon to collect rock and dust samples.

Chandrayaan-II will be developed as a joint venture project with Russia and a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed in that regard. "I want to see a modern India, imbued by a scientific temper, where the benefits of modern knowledge flow to all sections of society," he added.

Incidentally, India's national space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was carved out of another bigger organisation on August 15, 1969. It was the dream and vision of Vikram Sarabhai and Homi Jehangir Bhabha, India's celebrated scientists. In addition to domestic payloads, ISRO offers international launch services.

On April 28 this year, ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) -C9 successfully launched one Indian Minis Satellite (IMS-1) and 8 foreign nano satellites from Sriharikota Space centre. The launch was executed under a commercial contract among the University of Toronto, Canada; Cosmos International, Germany; and Antrix Corporation, ISRO's marketing agency.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2008/09/05/6675816-ap.html 

DARMSTADT, Germany - The European deep space probe Rosetta successfully completed a flyby of an asteroid millions of kilometres from earth, but its high resolution camera stopped shortly before the closest pass, space officials said Saturday.

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Polemic on China's space program:

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Chinas_rulers_look_to_space_to_maintain_Olympic_pride_999.html

China's rulers look to space to maintain Olympic pride

by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Sept 9, 2008
China's rulers are looking to catapult overflowing pride and patriotism from the Beijing Olympics into another stratosphere when the nation's first "taikonaut" walks in space this month.

Amid high inflation and other economic concerns, analysts say China's space programme offers the communist leadership an important platform to maintain a popularity boost given to them by staging a successful Olympics.

"China's space programme reflects the power and legitimacy of the Communist Party," Morris Jones, an Australian space analyst and writer who has closely studied China's space efforts, told AFP.

"They are using manned space exploration as a political demonstration of their legitimacy."

State press reported this week that China's third manned space flight, the Shenzhou VII, will blast off from the deserts of the nation's northwest between September 25 and 30 with three taikonauts on board and a space walk planned. . . .

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Very complex and dangerous mission

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Optimal_Conditions_Set_For_Chinese_Spacewalk_999.html

Optimal Conditions Set For Chinese Spacewalk

Shanghai, China (XNA) Sep 12, 2008

Bringing forward the launch date of China's third manned spacecraft by one month will maximize conditions for the country's highly anticipated inaugural spacewalk, experts have said. The Shenzhou VII spacecraft was first scheduled for take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province at the end of October.

The spacecraft was later rescheduled for take off between Sept 25 and 30.

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India should work with NASA more closely:

http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Russian_Water_Detector_To_Ride_Piggyback_On_US_Lunar_Orbiter_999.html

Russian Water Detector To Ride Piggyback On U.S. Lunar Orbiter

Design of the LEND instrument.

by Yury Zaitsev
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Sep 15, 2008

(Ed.: LEND is Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector, which means it is used for indirect detection of water.) 

 

 

 

 

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Chandrayaan-I Moved To Sriharikota For Launch
Bangalore, India (PTI) Oct 03, 2008
The stage is set for India's first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-I as the spacecraft has completed all environmental tests and shifted to Sriharikota for launch on-board PSLV-C11. The PSLV-C11 was expected to be launched later this month.

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Launch of Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, India's first mission to the moon, expected Wednesday (22nd Oct) . 

http://www.moondaily.com/reports/UK_Moon_Camera_Ready_For_Blast_Off_999.html

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http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Countdown_For_India_First_Moon_Mission_Begins_Tomorrow_999.html

MOON DAILY Countdown For India's First Moon Mission Begins Tomorrow Bangalore, India (PTI) Oct 20, 2008 The 52-hour countdown for Chandrayaan-1 -- India's first unmanned moon mission -- will begin at Sriharikota spaceport early on Monday for Wednesday's historic launch.