Indian moon mission to carry two Nasa devices
An Indian unmanned mission to the moon will carry two Nasa scientific devices designed to find minerals and ice on the lunar surface.
The deal between Nasa and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is seen as another sign of the increasingly close ties between New Delhi and Washington after decades of Cold War estrangement.
The Chandrayaan-1 mission is set to launch in 2007 or 2008, according to the ISRO website, and will map the lunar surface using an array of sensors.
The collaboration, initially agreed during US President George Bush’s visit to India in March, calls for two Nasa payloads to be carried to the moon by a 525-kilogramme spacecraft.
One of the American devices, a mini-synthetic aperture radar, will map ice deposits in the moon’s polar regions. The other instrument, called a moon mineralogy mapper, will asses mineral resources, said US Embassy spokesman David Kennedy.
Chandrayaan-1 will also carry three scientific instruments from European research centres.
Nasa Administrator Michael Griffin and ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair signed the deal today in the southern Indian city of Bangalore.
After the signing, Griffin said he hoped that “as we extend the reach of human civilisation throughout the solar system, the US and India will be partners on many more technically challenging and scientifically rewarding projects”.
Ties between New Delhi and Washington hit a low point when the United States and other Western nations imposed economic sanctions on India after it tested nuclear weapons in 1998.
The sanctions delayed ISRO’s plans to develop its own engine for launching space vehicles.
However, most sanctions have since been lifted, and a civilian nuclear co-operation deal signed in March by Bush and India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is seen as the cornerstone of the emerging strategic partnership between the world’s dominant power and one of Asia’s economic powerhouses.
India began its space programme in 1972, and has previously used engines from long-time ally Russia to launch satellites.
