The inclusion of the MIP as part of the Chandrayaan mission came at the suggestion of former President A P J Abdul Kalam, a former rocket scientist, during the International Lunar Exploration Working Group conference held at Udaipur in November 2004.
Therefore, on achieving this milestone, Kalam said the landing was "a gift to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru" because the landing happened on the latter's 119th birth anniversary. He added, "The success of Chandrayaan-1 is result of a team effort. This is the reason for which every Indian should feel proud. India is not far from becoming a super power and its greatest asset, the youth, will lead it to the path of glory."
G Madhavan Nair, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, said, "We had promised the country that we will deliver the moon and we have done it. India has successfully hoisted the national flag on the moon. It is a proud achievement."
The flight of the MIP on Friday is a forerunner to the second Indian moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, which will carry a Russian rover and a lander slated for lift-off between 2010 and 2012.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is also planning a second version of Chandrayaan named Chandrayaan-2. According to Nair, "The Indian Space Research Organisation hopes to land a motorised rover on the Moon in 2012, as a part of its second Chandrayaan mission. The rover will be designed to move on wheels on the lunar surface, pick up samples of soil or rocks, do on site chemical analysis and send the data to the mother-spacecraft Chandrayaan-2, which will be orbiting above. Chandrayaan-2 will transmit the data to Earth."
Courtesy: Wikipedia |
