Chandrayaan 1, India's First Lunar Probe Options

[ljk4-1]

Chandrayaan Lunar Mission Will Carry NASA Payload

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Chandray...SA_Payload.html

Bangalore, India (SPX) May 1, 2006 - ISRO has agreed to carry two NASA research
instruments aboard its Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, the Indian lunar-orbiting
mission planned for launch next year, The Hindu newspaper reported Sunday.


ISRO Pushing For Indian Satellite Industry

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/ISRO_Pus...e_Industry.html

Bangalore, India (SPX) May 1, 2006 - ISRO is looking to jump-start an Indian
satellite industry by inviting prospective domestic contractors to work with the
agency until they can develop independent manufacturing capabilities.

[Phil Stooke]

All the recent missions including this one have started in a geostationary transfer orbit (or geometrically similar - apogee at 25000 km or so). Then they increase the apogee with successive burns until it is at lunar distance and slip into a high lunar orbit, then gradually shrink that to a low lunar orbit. SMART-1 did something similar but very slowly with its ion engine. The 5.5 day trip to the Moon doesn't start at once, it's the last of those big orbits.

Phil