Indian space probe enters lunar orbit

NEW DELHI, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- India's Chandrayaan-1 unmanned space probe entered lunar orbit Saturday, the start of a two-year exploration of the moon's surface.

The Indian Space Research Organization reported all systems on the craft were functioning normally, The Hindu reported.

ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the maneuver to break free of the Earth's gravitational field and to put the spacecraft in orbit around the moon was "the most crucial moment in the whole mission."

"We have done it so precisely that, as far as I know, nobody else has got this kind of precision," he said. "Our precision proves that in competence, our scientists and technologists are quite ahead of the global standards. With this, we have achieved more than 90 percent of the main objectives of the mission."

The mission is the most ambitious so far in the Indian space program. Chandrayaan, a Sanskrit word meaning "moon craft," is to circle the moon about 60 miles above its surface, using sensors to create a detailed map and determine its chemical composition.