October 21, 2008 INDIA takes a giant leap tomorrow with the launch of a lunar mission that will boost its space program into the same league as regional powerhouses Japan and China.

The unmanned lunar orbiting spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 is scheduled to blast off aboard an Indian-built rocket at 6:20 am (11:50 AEDT) tomorrow from Sriharikota on India’s southeastern coast.

For India, the $US80 million ($113.52 million) mission puts the country on the inside track of a fast-developing Asi