India plans to make a fresh attempt to land an unmanned mission on the moon in 2020 after a failed bid last year, the head of the country's space programme said Wednesday.

Work is going "smoothly" on the Chandrayaan-3 mission to put a rover probe on the moon's surface, Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K. Sivan told a press conference.

"We are targeting the launch for this year but it may spillover to next year," Sivan said. Indian sources said authorities had set November as a provisional target for launch.

India seeking to become only the fourth nation after Russia, the United States and China to put a mission on the moon's surface and boost its credentials as a low-cost space power.

The country's Chandrayaan-2 module crash-landed on the moon's surface in September.

Sivan said the new propulsion module, lander and surface rover would cost about $35 million, with a significantly higher outlay for the launch itself.

He added that India had chosen four candidate astronauts to take part in the country's first manned mission into orbit, pledged to take place by mid-2022.

The four are to start training in Russia later this month. Up to three astronauts are to take part in the mission, which will be one of the landmark projects scheduled for the 75th anniversary of India's independence from British rule.

Related Links
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Russia, US to discuss Lunar Gateway Station next spring
Moscow (Sputnik) Dec 27, 2019
Russia and the United States will have their next meeting, where Russia's participation in Lunar Gateway Station will be discussed, "closer to spring," the head of space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said. "[It will happen] closer to the spring, I think. We looked at all the pros and cons based on the interest in maintaining station and its non-stop work," Rogozin said, when asked about possible talks between NASA and Roscosmos. In 2017, Roscosmos and NASA signed an agreement on setting ... read more