The countdown for the launch of Chandrayaan-1 into orbit began at approximately 5.30 a.m. on Monday, October 20, 2008.

The Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft will be launched via an Indian-made modified Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from its launch site at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India.

The lunar exploration spacecraft will hold scientific instruments from the United States (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA), the European Union (European Space Agency, ESA), India (Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO), and Bulgaria (Bulgarian Aerospace Agency, BAA).

Specifically, the spacecraft will carry high-resolution remote sensing equipment in the visible, near-infrared, and soft and hard x-ray frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Its two-year mission will consist of performing a survey of the lunar surface in order to compile a complete map of the chemical features of the Moon, along with a three-dimensional map of its topography.

Its website states that it has two scientific objectives. They are:

(1) “To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with a high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10m [meter]) of both near and far side of the moon.”

and
 
(2) “To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium with a spatial resolution of about 25 km [kilometers] and high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with a spatial resolution of about 20 km.”

Read page two for its mission objectives and the launch time.

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Its mission objectives are to:

(1) “To realise the mission goal of harnessing the science payloads, lunar craft and the launch vehicle with suitable ground support systems including DSN station”

and
 
(2) “To realise the integration and testing, launching and achieving lunar polar orbit of about 100 km, in-orbit operation of experiments, communication/ telecommand, telemetry data reception, quick look data and archival for scientific utilization by identified group of scientists.”


The Moon Impact probe (MIP) will be ejected from Chandrayaan-1 once the spacecraft reaches a 60-mile (100-kilometer) orbit around the Moon. It will then impact the surface of the Moon.

The MIP carries three instruments: a high resolution mass spectrometer, an S-Band altimeter, and a video camera.

The launch is scheduled to occur at 6:22 a.m. India Standard Time (IST).

A live Webcast of the launch will be provided by the ISRO between the hours of 5:50 and 6:50 IST on October 22, 2008. The mission has a window that extends out to October 28 if a delay should occur earlier in the countdown.

Associate Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Center, M.Y.S. Prasad, stated, “The countdown is going on smoothly. The countdown involves a lot of activities and continuous operations, in which hundreds of people work simultaneously. These activities and operations will by synchronised and linked to the common time.” [The Hindu: “Final countdown begins for launch of Chandrayaan-1”]

Learn more about the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft at: ISRO Chandrayaan 1.