Chennai, Sep 24 (IANS) India’s first lunar mission is perhaps the only space project that has raised many eyebrows. But the sensational finding of water on moon has vindicated Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials’ faith in the Rs.386-crore mission.
“Those who oppose the project have no concept of the lunar mission. Ours is entirely different and we are not reinventing the wheel,” K. Kasturirangan, former ISRO chairman, said.

ISRO scientists were convinced of the mission’s utility despite opposition which argued that “the money could be spent on welfare of the poor”.

The ISRO scientists pointed out that the technological and scientific gains of the moon mission would benefit the domestic civil industry immensely.

The present ISRO chairman, G. Madhavan Nair, Wednesday said: “Chandrayaan is a 100 percent success as far as ISRO is concerned. ISRO is studying the data sent by the satellite and is now focussing on Chandrayaan-2 which will be launched some time in 2012 or 2013.”

Now with traces of water being found by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper owned by US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which was carried by Chandrayaan-1, the moon once again will turn attractive for global space powers, including India.

The next step, after satellite launches, is exploring space and also making India technologically independent, ISRO scientists said.