Bengaluru (NVI): The government has approved Chandrayaan-3 project, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan said today about the third edition of India’s moon mission which is targeted to be launched next year.
Addressing a press conference h7ere, Sivan said Chandrayaan-3 will be modelled on Chandrayaan-2 and will have landing and rover with propulsion module.
Chandrayaan-2 had orbiter-lander-rover configuration, Sivan said.
Chandrayaan-2 was launched in September last year but failed to achieve its target of landing.
Sivan, while listing ISRO’s achievements of 2019 and its future plans, said 2020 will be eventful for the space agency as it plans to launch at least 25 space missions during the year.
It will also be working on the ambitious Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan projects.
Gaganyaan is India’s first manned space mission, slated to be launched in 2022. The plan is to send three astronauts on the mission, training for which is expected to begin this month.
Sivan also said that ISRO, as part of its expansion plans, has acquired land in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi for a second space port.
Talking about Chandrayaan-2, Sivan said even though the landing could not be successful, the orbiter is still functioning and it is going to function for the next seven years to produce science data.
ISRO had chosen south pole of the Moon for Chandrayaan-2 soft landing but at the last minute, the lander lost contact as it apparently crash-landed.
