Bangalore: Just as the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in January this year could be a precursor to a manned space mission, the success of Chandrayaan, ISRO's coming moon mission could pave the way for a Mars probe.

These future plans for ISRO could materialise sooner than anticipated, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair indicated here on Wednesday.

The mission to Mars, projected for 2012, and the Chandrayaan (scheduled for a March 2008 launch) are aimed at assessing the atmospheric and surface conditions of Mars and the moon respectively, Mr. Nair told The Hindu .

The proposal for the manned mission will be submitted this year-end, according to S. Krishnamurthy, Director of the Public Relations Department, ISRO. "Once this is cleared, the mission could be undertaken within the next 8-10 years," he said.

The manned mission's orbit duration could be seven days, he said adding that the spacecraft can accommodate one or two astronauts, and will be placed at an orbit height of 400 km.

Pre-proposal studies on equipment and life-support systems are underway, Mr. Nair said.

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