Bangalore: President A P J Abdul Kalam today (Jan 16, 2004) said that India's final aim is to have a mission to the Mars, but before that the country needs to prove its technological capability in first reaching the moon.

"After moon, definitely, my final aim is going to Mars. Mars has got economical value and moon, material value," Kalam told students and faculty of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc)'s Aerospace Engineering Department at an interactive session, with whom he has had relationship for over four decades.

Asked by a student on how India fared in its moon and planetary exploration programmes with US President George Bush announcing a manned mission to the moon and to the Mars, Kalam said, "I asked the same question to my friend Madhavan Nair, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation."

"Before going to Mars, we have to prove the complete technology (we have) for going to the moon," Kalam quoted Nair, whom he worked with at ISRO in the launch vehicle space, as saying.

The President, who was nostalgic about his association with the Institute, called upon students to take up work on conducting research on Mars.

"Some of the PhD students can take up work on Mars trajectory and if you are having a scientific plan, you can develop some instruments for our unmanned moon mission. The ISRO chairman said that he has about 20 kg space in our satellite for scientific instruments," he said, urging them to think, innovate and take up challenging assignments.