ISRO To Return To Moon With Chandrayaan-4, Will Have A Two-Phase Launch
According to ISRO, the Chandrayaan-4 will be its most complex moon mission to date and aims to collect and bring lunar samples to Earth. ISRO Chairman S Somnath informed at the National Space Science Symposium (NSSS 2024) that the Chandrayaan-4 mission will include five spacecraft modules.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced the plans for its fourth lunar mission.
According to ISRO, the Chandrayaan-4 will be its most complex moon mission to date and aims to collect and bring lunar samples to Earth.
REUTERS
Five modules for Chandrayaan-4
ISRO Chairman S Somnath informed at the National Space Science Symposium (NSSS 2024) that the Chandrayaan-4 mission will include five spacecraft modules.
This is two more than the previous lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3 which had three modules.
The five modules of Chandrayaan-4 are the Propulsion Module, Descender Module (to land on the Moon), Ascender Module (to exit the lander with samples), Transfer Module (to take the ascender module out of lunar orbit) and Re-entry Module (to land on Earth with moon samples).
ISRO
Chandrayaan-4 to be launched in two phases
Given the complexity of the mission, Chandrayaan-4 will be launched in two phases.
In the first phase, the propulsion, descender, and ascender modules will be launched, followed by the transfer and re-entry modules in the second phase.
The first phase will use India¡¯s heaviest rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III), and the second phase will be carried out by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket.
Objectives of Chandrayaan-4
Chandrayaan-4 will also attempt something that no previous ISRO moon missions have attempted - collect moon rock and soil, and return to Earth with them.
Though no official date has been announced for the Chandrayaan-4 mission it is unlikely to happen before 2027.
India's previous moon mission Chandrayaan-3 was launched in July 2023.
ISRO
The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and the lander touched down near the lunar south pole on 23 August.
This made Chandrayaan-3 the first moon mission by any space agency to make a successful landing on the south pole of the moon.
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