Bangalore: India has received an overwhelming response - 20 proposals in all - from space powers, including from the US and those from Europe, to partner with it in its proposed moon mission (Chandrayaan-I), a top Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official said today (May 10, 2004).

ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Bangalore that the proposals have come from the US, Europe and Canada, and mentioned European Space Agency (ESA), CNES of France and DLR of Germany, in this regard.

"Israel has also sent a proposal," he added.

"We have 20 proposals in hand now. At the best we can take only two. A scientific committee has been appointed, which is going to review and short-list the proposals," Nair said.

He noted that the selected two foreign agencies would basically carry out auxiliary experiments during the mission, slated for 2007.

"We have started the metal cutting," Nair said on the preparations for the mission, which is estimated to cost in the region of Rs 350 crore.

ISRO's present plans are to have an unmanned moon mission, and Nair categorically said there is no proposal at the moment to have a manned one.

"The debate (whether to have a manned moon mission or not) has been initiated in various technical fora. Let it go through a process of review," he commented.

Speaking on the upcoming launches, Nair said Edusat, a spacecraft dedicated for education purposes, is slated to be launched on board a Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) in early August.

Also scheduled for launch this year is a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which would carry one of the Cartosats, he added.

The Russian cryogenic engine would be used for the coming GSLV launch, he said in response to a question.

The indigenous cryogenic engine is fully qualified and is currently in the stage of development, Nair said.

Fourth generation satellite is currently being built by ISRO and first of the INSAT-4 series - INSAT-4A - is planned be launched by the end of the year and the second one -- INSAT-4B - in the second half of next year, he said.

INSAT-4 series would carry more KU band transponders than in the INSAT-3 series and also C-band. "Transponder requirements have gone up. We are trying to put 36 transponders (in each of INSAT-4 series spacecraft)".

Nair rejected criticism of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which maintained that ISRO's transponder costs are high and the space agency is taking advantage of being a monopoly in the sphere.

"Our transponder costs are very, very competitive compared with any in the world. It's most competitive," the ISRO chairman said.