ISRO Embarks on Ambitious Lunar Missions Following Chandrayaan-3 Success
ISRO Embarks on Ambitious Lunar Missions Following Chandrayaan-3 Success
Following the landmark achievement of Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing on the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now gearing up for two more ambitious lunar missions, LuPEx and Chandrayaan-4.
LuPEx: Exploring the Dark Side of the Moon
The LuPEx (Lunar Polar Exploration) mission aims to explore the Moon’s darker side, located at 90 degrees. This mission plans to land a significantly heavier rover, weighing up to 350 kg, in contrast to Chandrayaan-3’s 30 kg rover. This advancement represents a substantial leap in India’s lunar exploration capabilities.
Chandrayaan-4: A Sample Return Mission
Chandrayaan-4, as outlined by ISRO’s SAC Director Nilesh Desai, is a highly ambitious lunar sample return mission. This mission involves landing on the Moon, similar to Chandrayaan-3, but with the added complexity of returning lunar soil and rock samples to Earth. The mission is expected to deploy multiple modules, including a re-entry module to bring back samples.
Technological Challenges and Collaboration
Addressing the technological challenges, Desai mentioned that the mission would incorporate precise landing technology, a feature recently demonstrated by a Japanese moon mission. The LuPEx mission will also benefit from collaboration with the Japanese space agency JAXA.
Chandrayaan-3’s Legacy
Chandrayaan-3 marked India’s first successful soft landing on the Moon’s South Pole, placing India among a select group of nations to have achieved this feat. The mission’s success, overcoming the disappointment of Chandrayaan-2’s crash landing, has bolstered confidence in India’s space exploration capabilities.
Ongoing and Future Space Ventures
Following Chandrayaan-3, ISRO successfully launched its first solar mission, Aditya-L1. The spacecraft has already completed several crucial manoeuvres, exiting Earth’s sphere of influence.
