Bangalore, Apr 29 :After the successful launch ten satellites from one space vehicle, India plans to launch Chandrayaan-1, the satellite system to the moon in the third quarter of this year, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G Madhavan Nair said on Tuesday.

Nair said that ISRO has started the integration for the launch of Chandrayaan-1.

“Next significant event will be our mission to moon. As you know that Chandrayaan-1, the instrument the satellite system to go to the moon is getting ready. The launch will take place sometime in the third quarter of this year” said Nair.

“We should be able to attempt this launch but you know it is very very complex in terms of travelling to nearly 400,000 kilometres and then going near the moon breaking the orbit around the moon again descending nearly 100 kilometers above the moon,” he added.

Nair also pointed out that talks with international buyers for launch of their satellite are going on.

“Already we are having a dialogue with some of the European customers on this. They want some launches to be carried out from India, perhaps this event will speed up the process,” he said.

On its 13th flight, 230-tonne Polar Satellite launch vehicle, PSLV-C9 is carrying the 690-kg Cartosat-2A, an 83 kg indigenous mini satellite mini satellite called IMS-1 along with eight foreign nano satellites from Canada and Germany.

CARTOSAT-2A is similar to the mapping satellite, Cartosat-2, launched in January 2007.

Cartosat-2A has a panchromatic camera designed to provide imagery with one-meter spatial resolution and a swathe of 9.6 km to spot objects measuring the same size. The new satellite is also capable of providing scene-specific spot imagery for cartographic and other applications.

The mini satellite IMS-1 will provide a platform for trying out new technologies, which will be useful for future missions of ISRO. The space agency said that the mini satellite will operate in the visible and near infrared areas of the electro-magnetic spectrum and data from this mission would be made available to developing countries.

The eight nano-satellites, built by Canada and Germany-based universities and research institutions, on board have been launched under a deal with Antrix Corporation, the space agency's commercial wing. Their weight varies from 3 to 16 kg with a total weight of about 50 kg. (ANI)