Chandrayaan-2 moon mission to cost Rs 8 bn; launch postponed to Oct-Nov

India's second moon mission 'Chandrayaan-2' which is expected to be launched around October-November this year, is likely to cost Rs 8 billion, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan said on Wednesday.

It includes Rs 2 billion for launching and Rs 6 billion for the satellite, Sivan told Union Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space Jitendra Singh, during a meeting here.

Chandrayaan-2 will be equipped with a lander and rover probe which will descend on the surface of the moon from where it will observe the lunar surface and send back data which will be useful for analysis of the lunar soil, he said.

Jitendra Singh appreciated the fact that the Chandrayaan-2 mission is not only cost-effective but also "totally indigenous in its expertise, manufacturing and material".

India's first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, launched on October 22, 2008, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre near Chennai, was also accomplished in a cost-effective manner.

Chandrayaan-1 Project Director Mayilsamy Annadurai was quoted by a news organisation in 2011 as saying that of the Rs 3.86 billion earmarked for the project, Rs 8.2 million had been saved.

Another ISRO Mission, GSLV Mk III-D2, scheduled for June-July this year was also discussed during the meeting.