Chandrayaan-3 To Be Launched In Early 2021, Will Not Include Orbiter
The mission has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and the follow-up lockdowns. The launch which was planned for 2020 will now take off for the Lunar surface sometime in early 2021.
Chandrayaan-3 is likely to be launched in early 2021. However, unlike Chandrayaan-2, it will not have an orbiter, but will include a lander and a rover, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has confirmed.
Just like Chandrayaan-2, India¡¯s next lunar mission will also be highly autonomous (pre-programmed), using multiple sensors, including those designed to help the lander assess its height from the landing spot, decide velocity and keep the craft away from boulders and uneven surface, reports Defence News.
Image For Representation/ISRO/PTI
The mission has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and the follow-up lockdowns. The launch which was planned for 2020 will now take off for the Lunar surface sometime in early 2021.
A scientist told TOI that ¡°The lander¡¯s sensors will undergo a crucial test ¡ª Lander Sensor Performance Test (LSPT) ¡ª which will involve us flying the sensors on an aircraft over the artificial lunar site and see how efficient they are in guiding the lander,¡± a scientist said.
During this sensor readiness test, an ISRO spacecraft will descend from heights of two kilometres and then seven kilometres over the artificial crater site in Challakere. Its sensors will be tested in the simulation to guide the craft to a safe landing location.
Image For Representation/ISRO/Twitter
Planned to land on the South Pole of the Moon, Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22 last year.
However, the lander Vikram hard-landed on September 7, crashing India¡¯s dream to become the first nation to successfully touch down on the lunar surface in its maiden attempt.
The orbiter of the mission is working fine and has been sending data. Singh, who is the Minister of State for the Department of Space, said Chandrayaan-1, ISRO¡¯s maiden mission to the Moon launched in 2008, has sent images which show that Earth¡¯s satellite may be rusting along the poles.
The sign of this finding is that even though the surface of the Moon is known to have iron-rich rocks, it is not known for the presence of water and oxygen, which are the two elements needed to interact with iron to create rust, he said. Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) say that this could be because the Earth¡¯s own atmosphere is lending a helping hand which, in other words, means that the Earth¡¯s atmosphere could be protecting the Moon as well, the statement said.
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Thus, the Chandrayaan-1 Moon data indicates that the Moon¡¯s poles are home to water, this is what the scientists are trying to decipher, the statement added.
Meanwhile, preparations are going on for India¡¯s first-ever human space mission Gaganyaan, and the training processes and other procedures are also in place.
