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Allahabad, India (PTI) Nov 16, 2006 Press Trust Of India reports that India's first indigenous lunar mission 'Chandrayaan' is expected to take off by the end of 2007 and would try to explore its "polar regions" which are untouched by the sun's rays, according to top scientist K Kasturirangan. "The Rs 300 crore 'Chandrayaan' project, an indigenous lunar mission with just a few components borrowed from the US, Britain and Sweden, would be complete by the end of next year," the National Centre for Advanced Studies Director told reporters. He said the mission would be orbital in nature and not land on the moon's surface though there was a proposal to "bombard some impacters", which might help provide information about the satellites in space. He said so far lunar expeditions of the western world had concentrated on the moon's equatoral region but "Chandrayaan will try to explore its polar regions, which are believed to be extremely cold as they are untouched by the sun's rays". "We may come across vital inputs regarding the existence of water and possibility of human survival on the moon," Kasturirangan, a Rajya Sabha MP who formerly headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said. Referring to the the 21st century as the "century of planetary exploration", he said India with its vast pool of scientific talent was certain to play a major role in this direction.
Source: Press Trust of India Email This Article
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Beijing (XNA) Nov 12, 2006China and Russia are discussing lunar exploration co-operation in the next three years, the deputy head of the Russian Federal Space Agency said Thursday. Russia regards China as a "partner" in space exploration, Youriy Nosenko told a press conference in Beijing, adding that the two sides have shown interest on a lunar project. He did not elaborate. "The two countries have different strengths that can supplement and benefit each other," he said. |
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