India's proposed Rp3.5 billion ($75.5 million) mission to the moon involves putting a spacecraft into lunar orbit to enable high-resolution remote sensing of the moon in visible, X-ray and low-energy gamma-ray regions of the spectrum. The probe would be launched by India's four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle to prepare a three-dimensional atlas of the moon's elemental abundance. Prof George Joseph, chairman of the national task force that has prepared a feasibility report on the proposed Indian lunar mission, says research efforts are concentrating on mining helium on the moon and bringing it back to Earth for use in nuclear reactors.
Source: Flight International
