India plans to take samples from the Moon’s south pole

The Indian Space Research Organization plans to launch Chandrayaan-4 in 2028 to collect soil and rock samples at the Moon’s south pole.

The plan to launch the Chandrayaan-4 spacecraft and cooperate with Japan to deploy a lander and unmanned rover to the Moon was shared by Mr. S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). shared with New Delhi last week.

Chandrayaan-4, with the goal of collecting about 3 kg of lunar soil and rock samples from the water ice-rich area near the south pole, brought back to Earth. This is one of the important missions recently approved by the Indian government to promote the space economy. A budget of 21 billion rupees (equivalent to 250 million USD) has been allocated for the country’s return to the Moon.

“The Americans and Russians did this a long time ago, but doing it again today is still a big challenge – and very expensive,” Mr. Somanath said. “We’re looking to do a mission to the Moon and back at low cost.”

The mission is designed to include five spacecraft modules, requiring two launches from ISRO’s most powerful rocket, LVM-3. The first launch will carry a lander and a sample collection vehicle, while the second launch will carry a transfer module and a re-entry module, which will park in lunar orbit. According to the plan, the levitation module carrying collected samples will launch from the lunar surface and deliver the precious “cargo” to the re-entry module. The re-entry module will then return to Earth.

To practice docking of two spacecraft in orbit – one of the most difficult aspects of Chandrayaan-4 – ISRO will launch a $14 million space docking experiment (SPADEX) later this year or early 2025, according to Deccan Herald.

Other indigenous technologies being developed for the lunar mission include a robotic arm to scoop soil and rocks from the lunar surface and a drilling mechanism to collect samples a few meters below the surface, according to ISRO .

The landing area has not yet been officially announced. Previous reports suggested the mission would target a landing near the Shiv Shakti point, near the lunar south pole, where the now-defunct Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landed.

The abundance of water ice at the Moon’s south pole makes it of great interest to spacefaring nations, as scientists suspect the ice could be exploited to support life and make fuel. rocket fuel. Earlier this week, NASA selected nine potential landing sites near the lunar south pole for the first manned lander, Artemis 3. China also has upcoming missions targeting the south pole, and placed The goal is to send astronauts to the Moon before the end of this decade.

“We are all excited to design and develop this complex mission – Chandrayaan-4 – and make it a reality by 2028,” Mr Somanath said.

Previously, in August 2023, the Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully landed in the area near the Moon’s south pole. The success of Chandrayaan-3 made India the fourth country in the world to land on the surface of the Moon, only after the Soviet Union, the United States and China. The mission also marked India’s emergence as a new space power.

 

Simulation of the Vikram lander and Pragyan robot during the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission. Image:ISRO

The first lunar mission under India’s Chandrayaan program was Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008. The mission consisted of an orbiter orbiting the Moon at an altitude of 100 km to map geology, mineralogy and Chemistry of the Moon. After the spacecraft completed all main mission objectives, the orbit was raised to 200 km in May 2009. The mission ended when experts lost contact with it at the end of August 2009.

In 2019, India launched the Chandrayaan-2 mission to try to land a ship on the Moon but failed. The lander and robot were destroyed when they crashed into the Moon near the expected landing location of Chandrayaan-3. Meanwhile, Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter successfully deployed and is still flying around the Moon.

By Editor

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