ISRO To Launch Mangalyaan-2 Mission In 2030
The upcoming Mangalyaan-2 will be far more complex in design and execution. Unlike its predecessor, which was solely an orbiter, the new mission will carry both an orbiter and a lander.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has confirmed that it will launch the Mangalyaan-2 mission in 2030, twelve years after India’s historic Mars Orbiter Mission put the country on the global space map.
Announcing the mission on Wednesday, ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said that Mangalyaan-2 is slated for launch in 2030, marking a new chapter in India’s interplanetary ambitions.
The original Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission), launched on November 5, 2013, made India the first Asian country to reach Martian orbit and the first nation globally to succeed in its maiden Mars mission. Operating for over seven years before losing communication in 2022, the spacecraft sent back valuable data about Mars’ atmosphere, mineral makeup, and surface imagery.
Mangalyaan-2 To Be More Complex
The upcoming Mangalyaan-2 will be far more complex in design and execution. Unlike its predecessor, which was solely an orbiter, the new mission will carry both an orbiter and a lander, and may even include a small rover.
According to ISRO, work is underway on cutting-edge propulsion, navigation, and autonomous landing systems to withstand the thin Martian atmosphere and enable a controlled descent.
"Mangalyaan-2 is being engineered not just to orbit Mars, but to accomplish India’s first soft landing on another planet,” ISRO officials told India Today. The mission, they added, reflects India’s growing confidence in deep-space exploration and aligns with its long-term goal of expanding its presence beyond Earth’s orbit.
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