India's first unmanned spacecraft, Chandrayaan 1, has sent a probe on to the lunar surface.
The probe, known as “MIP” or Moon Impact Probe took a “controlled plunge” from the spacecraft to the surface of the Moon. During the descent, the probe took measurements of the elements in the moon’s atmosphere. Clearly, this represents a major step in India’s race to keep abreast with the new club of space-faring Asian nations.
The Chandrayaan 1 vessel had begun orbiting the Moon about three weeks after it was launched from a space centre in southern India. Over the next two years, Chandrayaan 1 is scheduled to compile a three-dimensional atlas of the Moon and search for ice with the help of instruments built by India and other countries including the US, Britain and Germany.
Madhavan Nair, Chairman of India's space programme, declared the mission successful and announced a second lunar mission to be launched by 2012.
