ISRO is putting the final touches to the Chandrayan I mission, expected to be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota this October. The payloads for Chandrayan I have reached ISRO’s satellite centre at Bangalore and have been integrated with the satellite, said Nair, adding that the thermovac process would begin within a week. “After this process, which takes about 50 days, we will be able to announce the launch date. The latest is October,” he said.

Even as they are concentrating on the present mission, the agency has decided to collaborate with Roskosmos, Russia’s Federal Space Agency, to build a spacecraft jointly for use in the second mission, Chandrayan II, said Nair.

“We have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Russian space agency to jointly build a space craft. It will have one orbitor which will go around the moon and a lander or rover that will touch down on the lunar surface and collect samples for analysis.