An animation by ESA. date- 22 Oct 08. Source/more info- www.esa.int 'Chandrayaan-1, Indias first mission to the Moon, was successfully launched earlier this morning from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) in Sriharikota, India. The PSLV-C11 rocket, an upgraded version of the Indian Space Research Organisations (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, lifted off at 02:52 Central European Summer Time (CEST) and, about 20 minutes later, injected the spacecraft into a highly elongated orbit around Earth. This marked the beginning of Chandrayaan-1s journey to the Moon, which will culminate with a major manoeuvre the lunar orbit insertion in about two weeks. Once the spacecraft is orbiting the Moon, further manoeuvres will progressively lower its altitude to the final 100 km-high circular orbit. Main objectives: Analyse geological, mineralogical and topographical aspects of the lunar surface in unprecedented detail Study the vertical distribution of crustal material Investigate the processes that led to the formation of craters, maria and basins on the Moon Explore space weathering processes, that result from the interaction of the solar wind and cosmic rays with the Moons surface Analyse the magnetic anomalies on the lunar surface Search for ices at the poles Produce 3D maps of regions of particular scientific interest at high spatial resolution (5-10 m) Drop an impact probe on the lunar surface to test near-surface properties and test impact technology Instruments on board ...
