Chennai: The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Dr Madhavan Nair, ruled out the possibility of undertaking a "manned mission" to the space, saying that such a programme was not on the cards.

"We do not find it necessary. The Resourcesat-1, launched on October 17 was equal to half a dozen people in space for a period of five to six years," he said speaking to reporters after the launch, which took place amidst heavy rain. The answer came when reporters asked whether there was any programme by ISRO to undertake a manned mission like China did on October 15.

Nair said the ISRO was going ahead with its first "unmanned mission" of the Moon within the next five years. The mission, titled ''Chandrayaan", will cost Rs 380 crore and ISRO proposed to use the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for the planned lunar mission. Improvements with regard to tracking and command control would have to be made before using the PSLV, which had to travel atleast 3.5 lakh km from the Earth.

Nair said the second launch pad in Sriharikota, built at a cost of Rs 400 crore, is expected to be commissioned by the middle of 2004. ISRO was also planning to use the second launch pad for its future Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and PSLV missions and also for the proposed launch of GSLV-Mark III.

The ISRO was planning atleast three launches every year for the next five years, Nair said.

PTI