forward the idea in 2000. Soon after, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) set up the National Lunar Mission Task Force which concluded that ISRO has the technical expertise to carry out an Indian mission to the Moon. In April 2003 over 100 famous and respected Indian scientists in the fields of planetary and space sciences, Earth sciences, physics, chemistry, astronomy, astrophysics, engineering and communication sciences discussed and approved the Task Force recommendation to launch an Indian probe to the Moon. Six months later, in November, the Indian government gave approval for the mission. Objectives The mission had the following stated objectives: 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 ) 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 elements magnesium, aluminium, silicon, calcium, iron, titanium, radon, uranium, and thorium to increase scientific knowledge to test the impact of a sub-satellite (Moon Impact Probe – MIP) on the surface of the Moon as a fore-runner for future soft-landing missions Goals In order to reach its objective, the mission defined these goals: High-resolution mineralogical and chemical imaging of the permanently shadowed north- and south-polar regions Searching for surface or sub-surface lunar water-ice, especially at the lunar poles Identification of chemicals in lunar highland rocks Chemical stratigraphy of the lunar crust by remote sensing of the central uplands of large lunar craters, and of the South Pole Aitken Region (SPAR), an expected site of interior material Mapping the height variation of features of the lunar surface Observation of X-ray spectrum greater than 10 keV and stereographic coverage of most of the Moon's surface with resolution Providing new insights in understanding the Moon's origin and evolution Specifications Mass at launch, at lunar orbit, and after releasing the impactor. Dimensions Cuboid in shape of approximately Communications X band, diameter dual gimballed parabolic antenna for payload data transmission. The Telemetry, Tracking & Command (TTC) communication operates in S band frequency. Power The spacecraft was mainly powered by its solar array, which included one solar panel covering a total area of generating 750 W of peak power, which was stored in a