Two-Launch Strategy to Capture and Return Lunar Samples
The Chandrayaan-4 mission will contain a fancy multi-stage method to make sure the profitable assortment and return of lunar samples. The mission would require two separate launches aboard ISRO’s LVM-3 rockets. The first launch will carry a lunar lander and an ascender automobile that can collect samples. The second launch will deploy a switch module and a reentry automobile that can stay in lunar orbit. After the samples are collected, the ascender will switch them to the reentry module in lunar orbit, which can then return to Earth.
To put together for the mission’s in-orbit docking necessities, ISRO will conduct a docking experiment, SPADEX, price $14 million, to check this system in a real-world atmosphere. This experiment, set for late 2024 or early 2025, goals to refine abilities crucial for the mission’s success.
Expanding Partnerships and Future Lunar Ambitions
India’s collaboration with Japan can even play a key position in its lunar exploration plans. Following Chandrayaan-4, ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will work collectively on Chandrayaan-5, often known as the Lunar Polar Exploration Project (LUPEX). JAXA will contribute a 350-kilogram rover for this mission, a big step up from the Pragyan rover used on Chandrayaan-3.
The Chandrayaan sequence of missions represents India’s drive to determine a human presence on the moon by 2040 and discover long-term choices for a lunar base by 2050. Somanath and ISRO stay dedicated to reaching these bold milestones, seeing them as important steps in the direction of India’s imaginative and prescient of area management. India plans to launch Chandrayaan-4 in 2028 to gather moon samples!
