NEW DELHI (AP) - An Indian
unmanned mission to the moon will carry two NASA scientific devices designed to
find minerals and ice on the lunar surface, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
The mission, called
Chandrayaan-1, is set to launch in 2007 or 2008, according to the ISRO Web
site, and will map the lunar surface using an array of sensors.
The collaboration,
initially agreed on during U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to India in
March, calls for two NASA payloads to be carried to the moon by a 1,160-pound (525-kilogram)
spacecraft.
One of the American
devices, a mini-synthetic aperture radar, will map ice deposits in the moon's
polar regions. The other instrument, called a moon mineralogy mapper, will
asses mineral resources, said U.S. Embassy spokesman David Kennedy.
Chandrayaan-1 will also
carry three scientific instruments from European research centers.
NASA Administrator Michael
Griffin and ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair signed the deal Tuesday in the
southern Indian city of Bangalore.
After the signing, Griffin
said he hoped that ''as we extend the reach of human civilization throughout
the solar system, the U.S. and India will be partners on many more technically
challenging and scientifically rewarding projects.''
Ties between New Delhi and
Washington hit a low point when the United States and other Western nations
imposed economic sanctions on India after it tested nuclear weapons in 1998.
The sanctions delayed
ISRO's plans to develop its own engine for launching space vehicles.
However, most sanctions
have since been lifted, and a civilian nuclear cooperation deal signed in March
by Bush and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is seen as the cornerstone of
the emerging strategic partnership between the world's dominant power and one
of Asia's economic powerhouses.
India began its space program
in 1972, and has previously used engines from longtime ally Russia to launch
satellites.
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