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.

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