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India's Moon Mission Pushed To July First Week
Bangalore, India (PTI) Feb 26, 2008 India's first planetary mission, Chandrayaan-1, has now been rescheduled to take place in the first week of July as the mission personnel work overtime to sort out payload integration and launch-related issues. "We are targeting the end of June. We will try to make it in the first week of July," a senior scientist associated with the Rs 386 crore moon mission told PTI here on Monday on condition of anonymity. The lunar mission was originally scheduled for April this year, a time-frame targeted four years ago to get all the payloads well ahead of time and to galvanise the scientists into mission mode with a target to work on. Indian Space Research Organisation officials insisted that there are no hardware problems and that the space agency is moving more cautiously to ensure that all systems are well tested before and after integration at each stage. The 525-kg lunar orbiter will carry as many as 11 instruments (payloads), including six from overseas -- two from the US and one each from Britain, Sweden, Germany and Bulgaria. "Normally we have 2-3 instruments (on board satellite). For the first time, we have 11 instruments from different institutions. We have to ensure that the integration work takes place to our satisfaction", Project Director of Chandrayaan-1 M Annadurai told PTI. Stressing on inter-compatibility of various instruments on board, Annadurai said ISRO is working on ensuring that "all the systems (one system) does not disturb other systems' performance". "Any system of this volume will have its own issues that need to be solved before proceeding to the next step," he said. "The issue gets compounded as the organisations are many. When we do this, it will add to taking away schedule cushions. Just to keep the launch target, we don't want to overlook any issue that will compromise the unqualified success of the mission". ISRO had earlier proposed to launch the lunar probe on April 9 and if not on that day, then on April 23. "If systems (once integrated and with propellants loaded) are kept for 14 days, then there could be some deterioration", he said, adding, ISRO is now working on a strategy that would allow it to have more number of launch opportunities. "We have almost arrived at a strategy". ISRO would keep a half-an-hour launch window on a given day, and if it is not in a position for the mission during that period, it could be done in the subsequent two days as well, Annadurai explained.
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The X PRIZE Foundation Announces Official Contenders In Private Moon Race
Mountain View CA (SPX) Feb 21, 2008The X PRIZE Foundation and Google have announced the first ten teams to register for the Google Lunar X PRIZE, a robotic race to the Moon to win a remarkable $30 million in prizes. This international group of teams will compete to land a privately funded robotic craft on the Moon that is capable of roaming the lunar surface for at least 500 meters and sending video, images and data back to the Earth. |
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