As scientists are gearing up for the maiden launch of India's unmanned moon mission, former President A P J Abdul Kalam on Saturday said it would help the country economically as well as strategically.
Coverage: India's Moon Mission
"The mission has economic and strategic value," Kalam told media persons on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi when asked to comment on the ambitious mission. He, however, refused to elaborate on it further.
The lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-I, India's first space mission beyond the earth's orbit, is scheduled for blast off on October 22 from the Sriharikota spaceport.
Chandrayaan-1 aims at expanding scientific knowledge about the moon, upgrade India's technological capability and provide challenging opportunities for planetary research to the younger generation of Indian scientists.
These well-defined objectives would be achieved through high-resolution remote sensing of moon in visible, near infrared microwave and x-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Meanwhile, ISRO scientists began launch rehearsal exercises at the Sriharikota spaceport as part of preparatory drill for the blast off.
A 52-hour countdown for the mission is expected to commence in the early hours of October 20.
India's most ambitious space mission to date would undertake comprehensive mapping of the Moon for the first time in the world. Earlier missions to moon by some other countries were aimed at specific regions or looked at only certain aspects.