Space
17:56, 18-Nov-2017
India eyes joint lunar mission with Japan
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India is mulling a joint mission to the moon with Japan, the country's top space official said.
"We are looking at a future for a possible joint lunar mission," state-owned Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief A S Kiran Kumar told the media on Friday.
"In the future, we will also be looking at how we can make use of this relationship for generating more input for climate change studies," he added.
India successfully launched its first mission, Chandrayaan-1, to the moon in 2008.
India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-11 took off carrying India's first unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan-1 on October 22, 2008. /Reuters Photo
India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-11 took off carrying India's first unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan-1 on October 22, 2008. /Reuters Photo
Chandrayaan-1 was launched on October 22, 2008, and included a probe, impactor and orbiter. Its moon impact probe crash-landed on the lunar surface on November 14, 2008.
The mission was lauded for costing a fraction – about 80 million US dollars – of similar missions. The Japanese SELENE cost 480 million US dollars.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency