India sending a rocket to the moon...

India will launch a locally built rocket for the country's first unmanned mission to the moon on October 22, the head of the project said on Tuesday. "If at all there is any delay, it will be because of the weather, otherwise I don't foresee any technical difficulties," M. Annadurai told Reuters.

The launch, earlier scheduled for April but delayed due to technical difficulties, has been given a window between Oct 20 and Oct 28 for takeoff from a southern India town.

Six countries, including the United States, are directly involved in the project, which will cost an estimated 3.86 billion rupees ($80.8 million).

It aims to map a three-dimensional atlas of the moon through high-resolution remote sensing and map the surface's chemical and mineral composition. More...

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