Monday, October 20, 2008

HEY! The Moon is MINE!

Guardian reports on unmanned moon mission that will see a flag planting, or more accurately, a flag dropping.
India's unmanned moon mission may launch race for lunar landgrab
• Satellite hopes to map surface for rare helium 3
• Critics say cash is wasted while millions go hungry

It will be a small step for mankind, but a giant leap forward for India. In a boost to national prestige, the country will launch its first unmanned moon mission tomorrow - blasting its Chandrayaan satellite into space from an island off the Bay of Bengal, using a domestically produced rocket system. In doing so, it will match China, which last year became the first Asian nation to send a satellite to orbit the moon, signalling the possibility of a race for mineral wealth on the lunar surface.

If all goes to plan, India's tricolour flag should be drifting down towards the freezing, airless lunar surface as dawn breaks over the subcontinent on November 11.

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