Moon mission inspires India to launch own version of Google Earth



Space-hungry India is planning to launch an improved version of Google Earth using its own satellite system, just weeks after conquering the moon.



Its space agency hopes to unveil a prototype of Bhuvan - the Sanskrit for Earth - by December and launch the programme to the public by March.



Officials claim the mapping system will generate clearer images and zoom into a distance of just 10m.

Sophisticated: 3D Google Earth provides a 3D image of the London Eye

The state-owned service, which will initially cover only India, will be free to use on the web.

'We've created a lot of value added products out of satellite data of the Indian region', Dr. V. Jayaramna, a director at Isra, told the Financial Times.



'We will introduce Bhuvan in phases. Over the next three to four months, the first lot [of map data] will come out and then more in a systematic manner.'



The move comes just weeks after India stepped up its position in the space race with the blast-off of the country's first unmanned space mission to the moon.



Space contender: India launched Chandralayaan-1, its first unmanned moon mission, in October

Chandrayaan-1, which was built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will create a 3D map of the lunar surface over two years.



India is following in the footsteps of rival China, after the emerging Asian power celebrated its first space walk in September.

'What we have started is a remarkable journey,' G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of ISRO, said.

Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter is expected to mark the achievement tomorrow as it drops a probe, painted in the colours of the Indian flag, on the moon's surface.

Earth from space: ISRO s Chandrayaan-1 pictures the Earth on its way to the Moon

But critics argue that India should address the poverty at home before competing with space leaders including China and Japan.

The latest project has sparked speculation that India will develop its own global positioning system, providing for TomTom-like devices for cars.



It is already working towards a satellite-based global aviation navigation system.



And scientists revealed earlier this week that designs for an Aditya spacecraft to study the sun are nearly complete.



Google Earth displays satellite images of varying resolution of the Earth's surface, giving users a bird's eye view of things like houses and cars.











