Article Posted on : - Oct 06, 2008

Image of the `giftpacked' spacecraft that were shown to the media last month

BANGALORE (PTI): India's first unmanned lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, is scheduled to be launched from the spaceport of Sriharikota at 6.20 am on October 22, Indian Space Research Organisation sources said today.

The satellite was transported from here to Sriharikota in a special vehicle last week and has reached the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR).

The spacecraft is expected to be mated with ISRO's workhorse rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11) later this week, the sources told PTI.

The spacecraft would carry 11 payloads -- five from India and six from the US, Europe and Bulgaria. It would be launched on board PSLV-C11.

Chandrayaan-1 satellite would orbit the Moon at an altitude of 100 km mapping the topography and the mineralogical content of the lunar soil.

Chandrayaan-1 would also carry a Moon Impact Probe payload for demonstrating the technology needed towards landing on the Moon's surface.

India believes the Rs 386-crore lunar mission is a step towards its quest for exploration of outer space and inter-planetary missions.