India is examining the feasibility of launching a manned mission to the moon by 2020, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said on Thursday.
Such a mission could cost more than Rs 10,000 crore and a feasibility report was being prepared on the proposal, Nair said while interacting with children at a summer camp organized by the Balasahitya Institute.
ISRO’s unmanned Chandrayaan-I project, to be launched in 2008, will study the moon’s outer surface, he said.
Nair described President A P J Abdul Kalam as his “guru” with whom he worked for 20 years.
He said he considered the PSLV rocket as his “son” as it was the result of 10 years of hard work.
He said future generations in India would throng to IT and bio-technology sectors.
“Though IT is still a service sector in India, we can contribute a lot in the field of bio-technology,” he said.
Asked by children whether he hoped to become President, Nair said he had enough work on his hands now
April 26, 2008 at 3:57 am
India going to the moon will be very exciting. But it has not sent man to outer space. India should first think of sending a manned mission to touter space which will be cheaper than to the moon. India should join hands with developed space agencies like NASA, RKA, CNSA etc which already have that developed technology which can be used to send man to outer space. PSLV might have taken 10 years to build but most big space projects usually like developing spacecrafts cost more and take more time also.
October 15, 2008 at 1:59 am
India’s moon mission is the right step towards international recognition and mastering of complex technologies.We must send more such crafts also to other planets like mars.Our scientific community must not fall prey to critics saying it’s all too expensive for a country like ours.Development must not come at a price of something we have already achieved.