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India sets its sights on the red planet

Bagla, Pallava

Four years after India's maiden mission to the Moon - Chandrayaan-1 - the country has announced its first mission to Mars.

Another giant leap for mankind

Spudis, Paul D.

Three spacecraft are currently orbiting the Moon, Chang'e-1 from China, Kaguya from Japan and Chandrayaan-1 from India. The American Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will join them later this year. Russia is developing lunar rover hardware, for itself and for other countries. In Europe, both Germany and the UK are contemplating their own lunar mission…

India analyses loss of lunar orbiter

Ramachandran, Ramaseshan

After a flawless launch last year, Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar orbiter, has come to a disappointing end. In the early hours of 29 August, the tracking network of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) lost its link with the satellite, just 312 days into a planned two-year mission. However, ISRO scientists have concluded that the 11 o…

Chandrayaan-1 mission blasts off to the Moon

Banks, Michael

India has launched its first mission to the Moon in a bid to create the highest resolution 3D maps of the lunar surface and provide a complete chemical mapping of the Moon's soil. The unmanned Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft successfully launched from Sriharikota, an island off the coast of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh last month.