[ad_1]
File photo of ISRO Chairman S. Somnath addressing the media. Photo Credit: PTI
ISRO Chairman S Somnath on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) said the space agency has completed the design for the next round of lunar missions – Chandrayaan 4 and 5 – and is in the process of seeking government approval for the same.
The Chandrayaan-4 mission includes bringing lunar rocks and soil to Earth after a soft landing on the lunar surface, launching a spacecraft from the Moon, performing a space docking experiment in lunar orbit and returning the samples to Earth.
“We have several missions to the moon. Chandrayaan-3 has been completed. Now the design for Chandrayaan 4 and 5 has been prepared and we are seeking government approval,” Mr Somnath told reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by the All India Council for Technical Education and the Indian Space Association.
Earlier, ISRO officials had said that the launch target of Chandrayaan-4 mission is 2028.
Mr Somnath also said that the space agency plans to launch 70 satellites in the next five years, including a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to meet the requirements of various ministries and departments of the government.
These 70 satellites include four satellites for the NAVIC regional navigation system which will provide positioning, navigation and timing services, INSAT 4D weather satellite, Resourcesat series satellites, Cartosat satellites for remote sensing and high resolution imaging, he said.
Mr. Somnath said the space agency also plans to develop Oceansat series satellites and technology demonstration satellites 01 and 02 to demonstrate electric propulsion systems and quantum key distribution technologies.
He said ISRO is also developing data relay satellites for the Gaganyaan mission, high throughput satellites to provide internet connectivity and GSAT satellites, which are set to be launched to the US on SpaceX’s Falcon rocket.
Mr Somnath said the space agency also plans to launch a series of earth observation satellites in the next five years.
The ISRO chief said that a mission to Venus was already being planned by the agency but it has been put on hold for now.
“We’re reevaluating the mission,” he said.
Mr Somnath said that the first unmanned mission of the Gaganyaan project is scheduled to be launched in December this year.
He said that all the stages of the rocket have already reached the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
Mr Somnath said the crew module is being built at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and the service module is being integrated at the UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bangalore. The crew escape system has already reached Sriharikota.
“All the systems will reach Sriharikota in the next one to one-and-a-half months, where final testing and integration will be carried out,” he said.
[ad_2]
Source link