Europe's first mission to the moon, Smart-1 has reached orbit
Europe agreed to support India in its mission to launch a spacecraft to the moon. The Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft, which will perform remote sensing of lunar targets, is scheduled to be launched from India's Polar Launcher in 2007 or 2008.
The board of the European Space Agency (ESA) agreed this week to supply three instruments to the spacecraft that will weigh one ton. The Indian space agency ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) was established in 1969 and launched the first satellite in 1975. Since then it has developed several launch vehicles and satellites for Earth observation, remote sensing, communication and weather forecasting. Along with China and Japan, India is one of the countries with a rapidly developing space sector in Asia.
The three European instruments on board Chandrayaan 1 will be the same as those currently on the Smart-1 spacecraft currently orbiting the moon - a demonstration spacecraft in which several new miniaturized technologies are being tested. Smart-1 began a comprehensive survey to locate the chemical elements on the surface of the moon. The scientists say that this may confirm theories about the origin of the moon - the result of a catalytic collision between the ancient Earth and a body the size of Mars billions of years ago.
