India launched its first unmanned moon mission on Wednesday following in the footsteps of rival China, as the emerging Asian power celebrated its space ambitions and scientific prowess.
The cuboid Chandrayaan-1 moon vehicle blasted off from a southern Indian space centre shortly after dawn in a boost for the country鈥檚 ambitions to gain more global space business.
鈥淲hat we have started is a remarkable journey,鈥� Madhavan Nair, chairman of the told reporters.
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The operation is ostensibly about mapping the moon in unprecedented detail, laying the groundwork for a manned mission in 2014 or 2015.
Space race
But the mission is also a part of the growing space race between Asian nations, coming soon after China鈥檚 much-celebrated first space walk last month.
India intends to keep up the pace in a friendly contest with serious technological and military implications. China鈥檚 destruction of a satellite using a missile last year raised fears among other nations that China has military ambitions in space.
Chandrayaan will spend two years orbiting the moon using onboard spectrometers to look for evidence of water and precious metals.
A gadget called the Moon Impactor Probe will also detach from the orbiter and land on the lunar surface. An onboard mass spectrometer will analyse dust it kicks up. A principal objective is to look for helium-3, an isotope thought to be valuable for use in nuclear fusion. Although rare on Earth, it is believed to be more common on the moon.
National pride
India鈥檚 project cost $79 million, considerably less than the Chinese and Japanese probes in 2007, or the European SMART-1 that cost $140 million in 2006.
India says its mission will pave the way for it to claim a bigger chunk of the global space business. It has already launched satellites for countries around the globe and is developing a new launcher for heavier payloads.
India鈥檚 national TV channels broadcasted the countdown to the launch live. Scientists were seen thumping their chests, hugging each other and applauding as the rocket shot up into space. Like China鈥檚 recent space walk, the successful launch was greeted with patriotic excitement in the media.
鈥淒estination Moon 鈥� Historic Day For India鈥� blazed one TV channel on its screen. In a nation where millions of people live in poverty, the cost of the mission has scarcely been questioned.
鈥淚鈥檓 very proud,鈥� says Sunil Tambe, a taxi driver in Mumbai. 鈥淚t means India can do these big projects and I think it will also benefit us because there will be more information and we can learn new things.鈥�
Sputnik鈥檚 Legacy 鈥� Learn more about humanity鈥檚 first 50 years in space in our .
