Context: ISRO chairperson S Somanath has planned to launch Chandrayaan 4 to bring back samples from the Moon in four years.
Chandrayaan 4: A Next Moon Mission
- After Chandrayaan- 3’s success and Aditya-L1 launch, ISRO aims to bring back moon samples with Chandrayaan-4 in approximately four years.
- ISRO chairperson S Somanath shared this vision while discussing the space agency’s Vision 2047.
About Chandrayaan 4 Mission
- It is a lunar sample return mission that will land and thereafter be able to bring back the sample of the lunar surface.
- Rover: This mission is expected to be more complex than its predecessor, Chandrayaan-3 which had a rover of 30 kg and Chandrayaan-4 plans to land a massive 350 kg rover.
- The rover will have an exploration area of 1 km x 1 km which is significantly larger than Chandrayaan-3’s 500 meters x 500 meters.
- Landing on the Moon: The Chandrayaan 4 mission aims to perform a precise landing on the Moon’s rim (area yet to be explored).
Space Agency Vision 2047:
- Space faring nation: India to look at space as a “strategic asset” of the country aiming to become a world-leading space-faring nation by 2047.
- Roadmap: S Somanath mentioned four levels the country needs to succeed i.e. strategic, spacecraft, innovation and exploration.
- Space parks, space tourism, global space data solution, global space manufacturing hub, and space mining
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ISRO’s Future Plans for Space:
- Bhartiya Antariksh Station:
- India is aiming to launch its first module of Bhartiya Antariksh Station in 2028.
- A space station will be capable of conducting experiments with the help of robots.
- The Prime Minister had previously called on the space agency to set up a space station by 2035 and send a man to the Moon by 2040.
- Inflatable Habitat Module:
- Inflatable Habitat module is aimed at long duration stays by Indian astronauts in low Earth orbit.
- Satellite Refueling Technology: ISRO is exploring satellite technologies capable of refueling other satellites in space.
- Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGVL):
- ISRO is working on designing the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGVL) that will have a capacity to carry 16 to 25 T to low Earth orbit.
- Space Docking Experiment (SPADEX):
- Space Docking Experiment is aimed at demonstrating autonomous docking capability.
- Objective: To advance technology in orbital rendezvous, docking, formation flying, and other related fields.
| What is Docking?
Docking is a process where two spacecrafts are aligned in a precise orbit and joined together. |
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- Function: Two satellites that are connected to each other will be launched which will separate out , travel for a few kilometres, and then come back and connect.
- Schedule: The launch is scheduled for the third quarter of 2024.
- Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LuPEX):
- ISRO is collaborating with the Japanese space agency( JAXA) on a lunar mission called LuPEX, which aims to explore the moon’s darker side.
- Shadowed areas: LUPEX mission will explore permanently shadowed areas of the lunar south pole.
- Objectives: The collaboration is aimed at obtaining data on quantity and forms of water present on the moon.
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News source: Indian Express
December 15, 2023