The Indian Space Research Organization announced the successful launch of its first unmanned lunar space mission: Chandrayaan-1 is the first Indian spacecraft expected to reach Moon’s orbit, where it will spend the next two years to investigate the lunar surface. Its primary objectives are to conduct mineralogical and chemical mapping of the lunar surface, as well as upgrade the technological base in the country.

On October 22, Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11) launched Chandrayaan-1 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, at 06:22 IST (Indian Standard Time).

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chief G Madhavan Nair described the launch as a "historic moment" as scientists congratulated each other at the space port.

"India has started its journey to the moon," Nair said after the launch, adding "The first leg has gone perfectly well. The spacecraft has been launched into orbit."

"The mission has opened a new chapter in the Indian as well as global space community," he said.

"We will raise the spacecraft's orbit step by step," Nair said adding it was a "complex mission" involving orbit determination, navigation and guidance of the equipment at huge distances.

The agency explained that Chandrayaan-1 was placed into an elliptical transfer orbit around the Earth, which will help it obtain the desired trajectory later on. As it reaches the vicinity of the moon, the spacecraft will slow down, which will allow it enter into an elliptical orbit, where it will begin its observations.

The spacecraft, which weighs approximately 1380 kg, carries eleven scientific instruments, build in India and five other countries. Chandayaan-1 is expected to return data with the help of its high-resolution remote sensing of moon in the visible, near infrared, microwave and X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. ISRO will use the data to create a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface.

The Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) will contribute to mapping the topography of the moon, which scientists say will help them better understand the lunar evolution process. The hyperspectral Imager (HySI) will be used for mapping the mineralogy of the lunar surface, while the High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEX) will carefully investigate the Polar Regions of the moon covered by water-ice deposits, while also trying to identify the regions rich in Uranium and Thorium. Furthermore, the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) has an essential role for future missions on the moon, as it will help establish the technology necessary for a possible landing on the moon.

All these instruments have been developed in India, but Chandrayaan-1 also carries six other instruments, developed in collaboration with the European Space agency, Bulgaria and the United States.

The Chandrayaan-1 Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS), an ESA payload, is the result of a joint development by Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in England, and ISRO Satellite Centre. The instrument will conduct high-quality mapping of the moon based on an X-ray fluorescence technique, which will also be used to identify the presence of Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Iron and Titanium on the lunar surface.

The Smart Near Infrared Spectrometer (SIR-2), the second ESA payload, developed by Max Plank Institute of Germany, will explore the mineral resources on moon’s surface. The Sub kiloelectronvolt Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SAR), the third ESA payload, developed at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics and Space Physics Laboratory of Bikram Sarabhai Space Center, will analyze the surface composition of the moon, and the magnetic anomalies associated with the surface.

The Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM), developed by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, will target the radiation environment surrounding the moon.

"In an era of renewed interest for the Moon on a world-wide scale, the ESA-ISRO collaboration on Chandrayaan-1 is a new opportunity for Europe to expand its competence in lunar science while tightening the long-standing relationship with India – an ever stronger space power," said Prof. David Southwood, ESA Director of Science and Robotic Exploration.

Two other instruments from the U.S., the Mini Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) and the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), will try to detect the presence of water ice at moon’s poles, up to a depth of a few meters, as well as help obtain a map-view of the mineral resources on the moon, at high special and spectral resolution.

Chandrayaan-1 is expected to be a stepping stone for the 2010 unmanned Chandrayaan-2 mission, a collaboration with Russia's space agency, which would include a lander and a rover.

ISRO has announced plans to send two astronauts for a week-long space flight by 2015 which would be followed by the country's first manned mission to the moon by 2020.