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India plans to launch a mission to Mars next year, putting an orbital probe around the red planet to study its climate and geology, top space department officials said on Thursday.
The mission would mark another step in India's ambitious space programme, which envisages the Asian giant's first manned mission in 2016.
A 320-tonne Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket will be used to carry the orbiter spaceship, blasting off from the ISRO launch site at Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Cost of the mission is estimated at 4.0-5.0 billion rupees ($70-90 million dollars).
The central government earmarked 1.25 billion rupees for the project in the last federal budget.
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