After the success of Chandrayaan 3, the Indian Space Research Organisation is preparing for its next moon mission aimed at bringing samples from Moon back to Earth. ISRO chairman S Somanath on Tuesday stated that the central space agency has already completed the designs for Chandrayaan 4 and 5 and is seeking government approval for them, the process for which is underway.
The primary objective of Chandrayaan-4 mission involves bringing back rocks and soil to earth from moon. It also includes making a soft landing on the lunar surface, launching a spacecraft from the moon, and demonstrating a space docking experiment in lunar orbit, news agency PTI reported.
At the sidelines of an event organised by the All India Council for Technical Education and Indian Space Association, Somanath stated: "We have a series of missions to go to the moon. Chandrayaan-3 is over. Now, design for Chandrayaan 4 and 5 has been completed and we are seeking approval of the government."
Earlier, the ISRO had stated that the Chandrayaan-4 mission is targeted to be launched in 2028.
70 Other Satellites To Be Launched In Next 5 Years
Besides the Chandrayaan 4 mission, Somanath also stated that the space agency was planning to launch 70 satellites over the next five years. These include a constellation of low earth orbit satellites to meet the requirements of various ministries and departments of the government, PTI reported.
These 70 satellites also include four for the NAVIC regional navigation system to provide positioning, navigation and time service, INSAT 4D weather satellites, the Resourcesat series of satellites, Cartosat satellites for remote sensing and high resolution imaging, the ISRO cheif said.
Somanath said ISRO was also planning to develop the Oceansat series of satellites and technology demonstration satellites 01 and 02 targeted at demonstrating electric propulsion systems, and quantum key distribution technologies.
The space agency was also developing data relay satellites for the Gaganyaan mission and high throughput satellites for providing internet connectivity and GSAT satellite, which was being prepared to be shipped to the US for launch on SpaceX's Falcon rocket, he said.
Somanath said the space agency was also planning to launch a series of earth observation satellites over the next five years.
Gaganyaan Project's First Unmanned Mission In Decemeber
The ISRO chief said the mission to Venus, which was being planned by the agency, has been put on the backburner. "We are re-evaluating the mission," he said.
Somanath further said that Gaganyaan project's first unmanned mission was scheduled for launch in December this year, adding that "All the stages of the rocket have already reached the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota."
He also said that the Crew Module is getting ready at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram and the service module was under integration at Bangalore's U R Rao Satellite Centre.
"The Crew Escape system has already reached Sriharikota. All systems are reaching Sriharikota in the next one to one-and-a-half month where final testing and integration will happen," he stated.