LVM3-X Countdown Commencing

ISRO is about to commence the countdown for the LVM3-X mission, the experimental test flight of the GSLV-Mk-III rocket, which will be carrying an unmanned crew capsule on a suborbital test flight:

http://ianslive.in/index.php?param=news/Indias_next_gen_rocket_test_flight_countdown_to_begin_Wednesday-458519/NATION/1

http://nvonews.com/gslv-mark-iii-human-crew-module-countdown-begin-9/

With this experimental test flight, India will be testing some of the key components for the Indian Human Spaceflight program.

In related news, NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover has discovered a large surge of methane on Mars (methane being a possible byproduct of living organisms):

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/science/a-new-clue-in-the-search-for-life-on-mars.html

With India's Mars Orbiter being the only other spacecraft with a methane detector, it would probably be useful for ISRO and NASA to compare methane data.