India Announces New Plans for Moon Landing in 2020
2020-01-07
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1India has announced plans to land an unpiloted space vehicle on the moon in 2020.
2The plans mark a continuation of India's drive to expand its space program.
3The head of India's Space Research Organization, K. Sivan, made the announcement on January 1.
4The planned mission, called Chandrayaan-3, aims to land an exploration vehicle on the moon's surface.
5Chandrayaan is the Sanskrit word for "moon vehicle."
6Sivan recently told reporters that mission planning had progressed "smoothly" so far.
7"We are targeting the launch for this year, but it may spill over to next year," Sivan said.
8Indian sources told the French news agency AFP that officials had set November as a target launch date.
9India is seeking to become only the fourth nation to land on the moon's surface -- after Russia, the United States and China.
10Israel made an unsuccessful attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon last April.
11India has worked to establish itself as a low-cost satellite launcher.
12It is seeking to become a world space power.
13However, the country's space program suffered a failed moon-landing attempt last September.
14That mission, Chandrayaan-2, ended with the lander spacecraft crashing on the moon's surface.
15Chandrayaan-2 had aimed to land on the south pole of the moon, where no other lunar mission had gone before.
16The area is believed to contain water because it is largely unaffected by the high temperatures of the sun.
17Chandrayaan-3's explorer vehicle hopes to confirm the presence of water in the form of lunar ice, which it first discovered during a mission in 2008.
18Sivan said the new unpiloted mission is expected to cost about $35 million, with additional launch costs.
19Sivan also announced that India had chosen four candidate astronauts to take part in the country's first planned piloted mission into orbit.
20That mission is set for late 2021 at the earliest.
21The four candidates are expected to start training in Russia later this month.
22Up to three astronauts are to take part in the flight.
23The piloted mission is one of India's main planned projects to mark the 75th anniversary of India's independence from British rule.
24I'm Bryan Lynn.
1India has announced plans to land an unpiloted space vehicle on the moon in 2020. The plans mark a continuation of India's drive to expand its space program. 2The head of India's Space Research Organization, K. Sivan, made the announcement on January 1. 3The planned mission, called Chandrayaan-3, aims to land an exploration vehicle on the moon's surface. Chandrayaan is the Sanskrit word for "moon vehicle." Sivan recently told reporters that mission planning had progressed "smoothly" so far. 4"We are targeting the launch for this year, but it may spill over to next year," Sivan said. Indian sources told the French news agency AFP that officials had set November as a target launch date. 5India is seeking to become only the fourth nation to land on the moon's surface -- after Russia, the United States and China. Israel made an unsuccessful attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon last April. 6India has worked to establish itself as a low-cost satellite launcher. It is seeking to become a world space power. However, the country's space program suffered a failed moon-landing attempt last September. That mission, Chandrayaan-2, ended with the lander spacecraft crashing on the moon's surface. 7Chandrayaan-2 had aimed to land on the south pole of the moon, where no other lunar mission had gone before. The area is believed to contain water because it is largely unaffected by the high temperatures of the sun. 8Chandrayaan-3's explorer vehicle hopes to confirm the presence of water in the form of lunar ice, which it first discovered during a mission in 2008. 9Sivan said the new unpiloted mission is expected to cost about $35 million, with additional launch costs. 10Sivan also announced that India had chosen four candidate astronauts to take part in the country's first planned piloted mission into orbit. That mission is set for late 2021 at the earliest. The four candidates are expected to start training in Russia later this month. Up to three astronauts are to take part in the flight. 11The piloted mission is one of India's main planned projects to mark the 75th anniversary of India's independence from British rule. 12I'm Bryan Lynn. 13Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 14We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 15_____________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17mission - n. a task or job that someone is given to do 18spill over - v. to have an effect on something else