Chandrayaan-1Chandrayaan-1(Sanskrit:-,(Sanskrit:[ tndjan]; lit: Moon vehicle[3][4]pronunciation(helpinfo)) was India's firstlunarprobe. It was launched by theIndian Space Research Organisationin October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and animpactor. India launched the spacecraft using aPSLV-XLrocket, serial number C11,[1][5]on 22 October 2008 fromSatish Dhawan Space Centre,Sriharikota,Nellore District,Andhra Pradesh, about 80km north ofChennai, at 06:22IST(00:52UTC).[6]Prime ministerAtal Bihari Vajpayeeannounced the project on course in his Independence Day speech on 15 August 2003. The mission was a major boost to India's space program,[7]as India researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the Moon.[8]The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.[9]On 14 November 2008, theMoon Impact Probeseparated from the Chandrayaan orbiter at 20:06 and struck the south pole in a controlled manner, making India the fourth country to place its flag on the Moon.[10]The probe impacted near the craterShackletonat 20:31 ejecting sub-surface soil that could be analysed for the presence oflunar waterice.[11][12]The estimated cost for the project was3.86 billion(US$60million). Theremote sensinglunar satellite had a mass of 1,380kg (3,040lb) at launch and 675kg (1,488lb) in lunar orbit.[13]It carried high resolution remote sensing equipment for visible,near infrared, and soft and hardX-rayfrequencies. Over a two-year period, it was intended to survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and three-dimensional topography. The polar regions are of special interest as they might contain ice.[14]The lunar mission carried five ISRO payloads and six payloads from other space agencies includingNASA,ESA, and theBulgarian Aerospace Agency, which were carried free of cost.[15]After almost a year, the orbiter started suffering from several technical issues including failure of the star sensors and poor thermal shielding, Chandrayaan stopped sending radio signals at 01:30ISTon 29 August 2009 shortly after which, theISROofficially declared the mission over. Chandrayaan operated for 312 days as opposed to the intended two years but the mission achieved 95% of its planned objectives.[2][16][17][18]Among its many achievements, the greatest achievement was the discovery of the widespread presence of water molecules in the lunar soil.[19][20]The mission had the following stated scientific objectives:[21] to design, develop, launch and orbit a spacecraft around the Moon using an Indian-made launch-vehicle to conduct scientific experiments using instruments on the spacecraft which would yield data: for the preparation of a three-dimensional atlas (with high spatial and altitude resolution of 510m) of both the near and far sides of the Moon for chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface at high spatial resolution, mapping particularly the chemical elementsmagnesium, aluminium,silicon,calcium, iron,titanium,radon,uranium, andthorium to increase scientific knowledge