Indian govt likely to give nod to Mars mission

NEW DELHI - India's state-owned space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has said that the government is soon going to give its nod to the country's Mars mission, local media reported.

"India's much-awaited mission to Mars is in the final stage of approval," said ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan, quoted by The Times of India newspaper.

The mission is likely to be launched from Sriharikota in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh either in November 2013, 2016 or 2018, the newspaper said.

"Many studies have been done relating to this mission," Radhakrishnan said.

The ISRO chief also said that India's first dedicated astronomy satellite, Astrosat, will be launched in 2013. "All the instruments are going through their final evaluation and it'll be a national laboratory available to scientists both in India and abroad," he said.