Chandrayaan - indian mission to moon

India hopes to launch its maiden mission to the moon -- Chandrayaan-I -- this year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in his independence day speech.

"This year we hope to send an Indian spacecraft, Chandrayaan, to the moon," Singh said in his Independence Day address to the nation from the rampart of the majestic Red Fort.

Singh said the launch of Chandrayaan will be an important milestone in the development of the country's space programme.

The unmanned mission, which will orbit the moon for two years, is expected to be launched in October by indigenously developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Srihariko