NASA to help India on lunar mission

WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- NASA officials announced Tuesday they will have two scientific instruments involved with India's maiden unmanned voyage to the moon.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and his counterpart, Indian Space Research Organization Chairman G. Madhavan Nair, signed two memoranda of understanding in Bangalore, India, for cooperation on India's Chandrayaan-1 mission.

Griffin is touring Indian Space Research Organization facilities this week, visiting its satellite development center, launch vehicle production center and launch site.

"It is my hope and belief that as we extend the reach of human civilization throughout the solar system, the United States and India will be partners on many more technically challenging and scientifically rewarding projects," Griffin said during a ceremony in Bangalore.

Chandrayaan-1, a lunar orbiter, is expected to be launched in late 2007 or early 2008. It will be an international mission, with payloads from Europe as well as the United States. NASA's contribution will include the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, designed to assess mineral resources of the moon. A second NASA instrument, Mini-SAR, will look for ice deposits in the moon's polar regions.