Moon News  
Chandrayaan-I: ISRO Selects American Geologist To Map Moon

The Chandrayaan-I mission is scheduled for take off in late 2007.

Delhi, India (SPX) Apr 05, 2005
An American geologist, selected by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as an investigator for Chandrayaan-I, has said she is excited and honoured to be part of the historic lunar mission, which aims to "unlock the mysteries" of the moon.

Revealing the closely guarded information about her Chandrayaan-I selection, geologist Carle Pieters told leading Indian news group, the Hindustan Times, in an exclusive interview: "I feel honoured that the project, funded by NASA, has been selected by the ISRO. I'm really excited to work on this ambitious project."

A Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Pieters will lead a team of US scientists to map the mineral composition of the moon through the state-of-the-art Moon Mineralogy Mapper, called M3, and referred to as 'M-cube'.

The team includes scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and various US universities.

An official announcement about the ISRO-NASA collaboration on Chandrayaan-I, would be made after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries, Pieters said.

"As such a high level of collaboration between NASA and ISRO has never existed in the past (which will involve technology transfers and exports of sophisticated space equipment), a MoU is necessary," she said.

Divulging few details about her proposed studies of the lunar surface, Pieters said for now she was busy readying the M-cube.

Pieters, who specialises in lunar evolution, and is considered a pioneer in the field of remote compositional analysis of lunar regions, said once the MoU was signed, the M-cube would be shipped to India for installation onboard Chandrayaan-I.

Identifying the moon as a cornerstone to understanding the early evolution of the solar system, Pieters claimed the M3 high-resolution compositional maps would dramatically improve scientists' understanding of the early evolution of the terrestrial planets.

"This would provide assessment of lunar resources at high spatial resolution," she said.

Besides evaluating concentrations of unusual or unexpected minerals on the moon, Pieters said the M3 would identify and assess the deposits containing volatiles, including water, and map fresh craters to assess properties of impacts in the recent past.

"We would evaluate crustal components and their distribution across the highlands and characterise the diversity and extent of different types of basaltic volcanism," she told The Hindustan Times.

The Chandrayaan-I mission is scheduled for take off in late 2007.

Email This Article

Related Links
ISRO
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more

First "Private" Lunar Mission Succeeded Despite NASA Roadblocks
Tucson AZ (SPX) Apr 04, 2005
"Lunar Prospector Against All Odds," by Alan Binder, Ph.D., is the highly personal and engaging story of how the Lunar Prospector orbital mapping mission was developed and carried out by the author between late 1989 and 2001.







  • Wyle Joins "All-Star" Team To Propose New Crew Exploration Vehicle
  • Industry Panel Urges Space Shuttle Fly-Out Plan, Space Station Integration
  • Virgin Says Space Flight Plan Complete, Airline Expansion Planned
  • Space Watch: A Cultural Change At NASA?

  • Chemical Guidebook May Help Mars Rover Track Extraterrestrial Life
  • Spirit Slipping On New Terrain
  • Opportunity Takes Soil Survey As Rover Drives Over 200 Meters A Day
  • The Martian Mortal Coil

  • NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter
  • Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission
  • Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program
  • Boeing-Led Team to Study Nuclear-Powered Space Systems

  • "Earths" Galore Await Discovery
  • In The Stars: Seeking Earth's Counterparts
  • Born Again Sols Could Bring Life Again To Dying Stellar Systems
  • In The Stars: Seeing The (Planet) Light

  • Nanotechnology Could Promote Hydrogen Economy
  • Nanocatalysts For Oil, Drugs
  • Harnessing Microbes, One By One, To Build A Better Nanoworld
  • Tiny Porphyrin Tubes Developed By Sandia May Lead To New Nanodevices

  • Ophthalmologists And Physicists Team Up To Design Bionic Eye
  • DARPA Selects SRI To Lead Trauma Pod Battlefield Medical Treatment System Development Program
  • India To Launch Satellite Exclusively For Telemedicine
  • UCLA Medical Center Becomes World's First Hospital to Introduce Remote

  • LockMart Delivers Atlas V For Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission
  • Kazakhs, Russians Create Space Venture
  • Russian Space Launch Prices Scrutinized
  • NASA Announces Dart Launch Date

  • SpaceDev Begins Development Of Its Small Launch Vehicle SpaceDev Streaker
  • Aerojet Test Solid Rocket Motor At Air Force Lab
  • Space Race 2: Falcon Taking Wing
  • SpaceX Completes Falcon I Structural Qualification For Flight

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement