The Union Minister of State for Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh informed on September 6, 2020, that Chandrayaan-3, India’s mission to Moon, is likely to be launched in early 2021.
The Union Minister also added that unlike Chandrayaan-2, this mission will not have an orbiter but it includes a rover and a lander.
India’s Space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had planned another mission to the moon later in 2020, after the hard landing of Chandrayaan-2 in September 2019. However, pandemic and lockdown have hit several of ISRO’s projects and missions.
Launch of Chandrayaan-3:
As per the statement by Dr. Jitendra Singh, as for Chandrayaan-3, the launch is likely to take place somewhere in early 2021. He added that Chandrayaan-3 will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2 and will include a Rover and Lander similar to Chandrayaan-2, but it will not have an orbiter.
India’s launch of Chandrayaan-2:
Planned to land on the South Pole of Moon, Chandrayaan-2 was launched by India on July 22, 2019. However, Vikram-the lander hard landed on September 7, 2020, which crashed India’s dream of becoming the first nation to successfully touch down on the lunar surface in its maiden attempt. As per the reports, the orbiters of the mission have been working fine and has also been sending data.
Images from Chandrayaan-1:
The Minister of State for the Department of Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that Chandrayaan-1, the maiden mission of ISRO to the Moon launched in 2008, has been sending images showing that Earth’s satellite (Moon) may be rusting along the poles.
Images sent by #ISRO mission Chandrayaan-1 indicate possible impact of Earth's atmosphere on the Moon. World's leading Space institution NASA takes note of this finding. pic.twitter.com/NkKKHAOuk0
— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) September 6, 2020
He added that the sign of this findings is that even though the surface of the Moon has been known to have iron-rich rocks, it is not known for the presence of oxygen and water, the two elements that are needed to interact with iron to create rust.
As per the scientists from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), this could be because Earth’s own atmosphere is lending a helping hand which means that Earth’s atmosphere can be protecting the Moon as well.
Thus the Moon data from Chandrayaan-1 indicates that the Moon’s poles are home to water and this is what the scientists are trying to decipher.
Preparations of Human Space Mission- Gaganyaan:
The Union Minister of State for the Department of Space while informing about India’s first-ever Human Space Mission mentioned that preparations have been going on for Gaganyaan and the training process and other procedures are also in place.
He further added that constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to some form of disruptions in the plan for Gaganyaan but efforts have been going on to stick to the timeline of around 2022.
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