The Chandrayan-I mission, India's first spacecraft to moon, announced by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his Independence Day speech, would place a satellite above moon and enable frontier scientific research, the Indian Satellite Research Organisation said on Saturday.

The spacecraft, expected to be launched by 2008, would place a 525-kg satellite in a polar orbit 100 km above the moon, which would obtain imagery of moon's surface using high-resolution remote sensing instruments.

It would also provide a unique opportunity for frontier scientific research by facilitating robots' landing on the moon and visits by Indian spacecraft to other planets in the solar orbit, ISRO said in a release.

The spacecraft would be launched using a modified version of the country's indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, it said.

Considering the interest expressed by the international scientific community, a provision has also been made to accommodate instruments from other countries as well, the release added.

"Chandrayan-1 is expected to be the fore-runner of more ambitious planetary missions in the years to come, including landing robots on the moon and visits by Indian spacecraft to other planets in the solar system," ISRO said.

"Today, India is confident of undertaking a complex space mission because of its indigenously developed launch vehicle and spacecraft capabilities," it said.