Indian rocket to land on moon in 2017; to launch solar mission

India's second lunar probe, Chandrayaan II, will land on the moon in 2017 and the country's first solar mission, Aditya L1, is likely to be launched in 2019, Lok Sabha was informed today.

Chandrayaan II will land on the surface of the moon in 2017 and this second lunar mission will help explore the possibilities of signs of extra-terrestrial life, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said during Question Hour, responding to supplementaries.

The Aditya L1 mission "is aimed at studying the sun from an orbit around the sun-earth lagrangian point (L-1) which is about 1.5 million km from earth. It will carry seven payloads including a coronagraph to observe the outermost layers of the sun, the corona. Aditya L1 will be launched during the 2019-20 timeframe," he said in his written response.

The "approved cost" of the solar mission is 378.53 crore.

Responding to another question, Singh said that India has entered the era of "space marketing" and the launch of six Singapore satellites today will earn India 26 million euros.

So far, India has earned $ 15 million and 80 million euros by launching satellites of other countries, he said, adding that $ 5 million and 65 million euros are in the "pipeline", while apparently referring to the launches proposed in the future.

The minister said that a budget of Rs 1420 crore has been approved by the government for realisation of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite (IRNSS) programme, including satellites and associated ground segment.