"A lot of studies have been done on the possible mission to Mars", Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation K Radhakrishnan told reporters here.
"We have come to the last phase of approvals", he said. "And I am sure that, maybe soon, we will be hearing an announcement on the Mars mission".
According to ISRO officials, a significant amount of work on the planned Mars mission has been completed and scientific payloads have been short-listed.
The project report for Indian Mars orbiter mission has been submitted for government approval.
The mission envisages launching an orbiter around Mars using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL). The orbiter will be placed in an orbit of 500 x 80,000 km around MARS and will have a provision to carry nearly 25 kg of scientific payloads on-board.
The tentative scientific objective for the Mars mission will be to focus on life, climate, geology, origin, evolution and sustainability of life on the planet,
