Article Posted on : - Jan 19, 2009

This is an illustration of the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. ISRO image

CHENNAI (PTI): ISRO has begun working on the Rs 425-crore second unmanned moon mission to be launched by early 2012 following the success of Chandrayaan-I, a top ISRO official said here today.

Chandrayaan-II will focus on soil and mineral exploration on the lunar surface with the help of a robotic device and send back data, Chandrayaan Project Director Mayilsamy Annadurai told reporters here.

The work had begun on the project and it was likely to be launched by end of 2011 or early 2012, he said.

ISRO plans to send a manned flight to space in 2015 and the manned mission to the moon in 2020, he added.

About Chandrayaan-I, he said it has beamed 40,000 pictures since its launch.

The stakeholders of the project would meet soon to discuss the information beamed by India's successful lunar mission, Annadurai said.