The United States will place a miniature synthetic aperture radar to map the cold regions and a moon "minerology mapper," said US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) chief Michael Griffin.

The radar will scan for ice deposits while the mapper will track the mineral and chemical composition of the moon.

Chandrayaan-1, slated for launch by early 2008, will also carry five Indian instruments along with three developed by the European Space Agency and one from the Bulgarian Space Laboratory.

"The mission you will conduct some 40 years after humans saw the moon up close for the first time will greatly advance our understanding of our closest neighbour in space and represents a very impressive technical achievement," Griffin said.

"I understand ... you are undertaking this mission to upgrade India's technological capability and provide challenging opportunities for planetary research for the younger generation."

After signing a memorandum of understanding for the cooperation deal in India's space capital Bangalore, Griffin said he hoped the United States and India would come together in more future space projects.

Space cooperation between the two dates back to 1963 when an atmospheric experiment was carried on a US-made rocket.

Relations between New Delhi and Washington have warmed dramatically in recent years and Washington lifted sanctions slapped on India's nuclear and space programmes following New Delhi's nuclear test blasts in 1998.

The sanctions resulted in a freeze on exchanges in nuclear and other high-tech sectors such as "dual-use technology" which finds applications in both civilian and military use.

Madhavan Nair, chairman of India's premier agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation, said the organisation received 16 proposals from around the world to be a part of the mission.

"Of these we selected six instruments including two from the US," he said.

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