Fabled in songs and poetry, and romanticized by lovers down the ages, the earth's closest neighbour is still an enigma in material terms. Can it sustain life? Does it have water? How did it come into existence? And what is its exact relationship with the earth?Chandrayaan-1, India's moon craft, will seek to unravel these and other mysteries in the most ambitious exploratory mission to the moon in decades. Conceptualised by Indian scientists, it is in some ways a global scientific endeavour, with European and American instruments hitching a ride on a lunar satellite and rocket designed and launched by the Indian Space Research Organization.When the mission was first proposed in 1999, it seemed wildly optimistic to most people. Could a developing nation with limited resources afford to invest so much money, time and effort on research into outer space? Yet, almost a decade later, India's science community has proven beyond doubt that it is capable of meeting the most exacting challenges.This book is a celebration of that achievement. It tells the story of the moon mission from conception to launch - the genesis, the plan, the people, the science. Based on reportage, interviews and most important of all, a deep understanding of the processes involved, Destination Moon is a lucidly written and comprehensive guide to India's engagement with outer space - past, present and future.ContentsForeword - Space Odyssey: Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan ix Foreword - ISRO's Big Leap: Dr G. Madhavan Nair xxi Preface - Moonstruck: Pallava Bagla xxviiIntroduction 11. Reaching for the Unknown: The Moon's Origins and the Search for Water 142. The Moon in the Indian Ethos 223. The World's Many Missions: From the Present into the Past 334. Beyond the Stratosphere: India's Space Programme 485. Chandrayaan: India's Shot at the Moon 816. The Future Is Here 112 Epilogue 124