In June of next year, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to launch its third lunar mission. The more capable lunar rover that will be carried by Chandrayaan-3, which is essential for future interplanetary missions, will launch in 2023, according to S. Somnath, Chairman of the Indian Space Agency.
The Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV Mk-III) will launch Chandrayaan-3 (C-3) in June of next year. The space agency is also working on the Gaganyaan mission, and the first abort test is slated for the new year.
The space agency chief said that while the mission will rely on the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which is already working around the Moon, the Chandrayaan-3 rover is not a replica of its predecessor. ‘C-3 is ready now. It is not a replica of the C-2. The rover is there. The engineering is significantly different. We have made it more robust so that it does not have problems like last time,’ Somnath said.
‘Many changes have occurred. Stronger impact legs are present. Better instrumentation will be used. Something else will take over if something else fails,’ he added. The rover is being developed to have improved software, different ways to determine the height to be traversed, and to locate risk-free areas.
The mission was originally scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2022, but it has now been further postponed. The coronavirus epidemic and the upcoming lockdown earlier hampered the progress on Chandrayaa-2’s replacement.
It is important to note that the Chandrayaan-2 mission lost control and fell to the Moon’s dark side. However, the orbiter is still operational and making crucial observations of both the solar system and the lunar surface. Chandrayaan-3 is critical for Isro as it will demonstrate India’s capabilities to make landings for further interplanetary missions.
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