WE'RE OKAY WITH GOING TO BED BY THE LIGHT OF A HINDU MOON:

US joins India's space odyssey (Siddharth Srivastava, 1/07/06, Asia Times)

India's capabilities in space sciences have received a fresh fillip. The United States has shown keen interest in placing a payload aboard India's first spacecraft to the moon, Chandrayan-I.

Many believe that the US intention to place a payload on Chandrayan-I is a major area of engagement between the two countries. It is a reflection of the changed perceptions in Washington after years of suspicion about the Indian space entity's alleged involvement in transgressing stringent US laws to obtain dual-use high-technology items.