The Hindu : National : Chandrayaan II launch likely in 2011: ISRO official

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Friday, Jan 04, 2008
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Chandrayaan II launch likely in 2011: ISRO official

Staff Reporter

ISRO collaborating with Russians for the second mission
In the first mission there will be no landing

PERUNDURAI: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to follow up the first mission to the moon with a second one, which will be around year 2011, said V. Jayaraman, Director, Earth Observation System, ISRO, Bangalore.

Talking to journalists on the sidelines of ‘INCRUIS-2008,’ an international conference organised by the Kongu Engineering College here on Thursday, Dr. Jayaraman said for the second mission, ISRO was collaborating with the Russians. “Chandrayaan II,” according to him, “will aim at landing a rover or lander on the moon’s surface.” In the first mission, there would be no landing; a satellite would orbit the moon and do surface mapping. Almost all the components in the satellite were indigenously built.

Dr. Jayaraman said the first mission, which would take off by April 2008, would carry nearly 11 payloads, a few of which would be from other countries. ISRO would send CARTOSAT II for studying sea surface wind, fisheries mapping and meteorological purposes. About the space agency’s potential to launch a manned recovery vehicle, he said it was awaiting the government’s nod.

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