Chandrayaan-1 likely on April 9

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up to launch the Chandrayaan-1, India's first scientific experiment to moon on April 9, next year.

However, high-level sources in the organisation said that if they miss the date, then they might have to wait for another two weeks.

"Work is in progress to make the launch happen on April 9. Both the launch vehicle as well as the satellite are getting ready. However, if we miss that date once, we have to wait for two more weeks for the next slot available for the launching," said B N Suresh, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram.

According to ISRO sources, the Chandrayaan-1 will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. It will take about five-and-half days till the Chandrayaan shuttle reaches the moon.

"Chandrayaan-1 is proposed to carry out high-resolution stereo mapping of the lunar surface as well as to probe the chemical and mineralogical composition of the moon," sources in ISRO said.

The budget for Chandrayaan is Rs 3,86 crore. This includes the cost of the setting up of a Deep Space Network (DSN) station and the cost of putting the Indian instruments. The cost of instruments from other space agencies has not been included as a part of the mission.