Chandrayaan-3 represented a notable accomplishment for India’s renowned space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). With this accomplishment under its belt, ISRO is now embarking on the ambitious trip to Chandrayaan-4. This future mission is expected to strengthen India’s position as a space exploration leader. Unlike its predecessors, Chandrayaan-4 aims to achieve a ground-breaking goal: collecting soil samples from the moon’s surface.
This project not only represents India’s space exploration capabilities but also has the potential to reveal priceless insights into the mysteries of the Moon. As preparations ramp up and anticipation grows, Chandrayaan-4 serves as a monument to India’s unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery and technological innovation on a global scale.
Mission Details
Nilesh Desai, Director of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre, shared details about Chandrayaan-4 during a recent event. The mission will involve landing on the Moon, collecting soil samples, and returning them to Earth. It’s a big challenge, but ISRO is up for it.
Key Details of Chandrayaan-4
Chandrayaan-4 will be more ambitious. It plans to land a much larger rover, weighing 350 kg, and explore a larger area on the Moon’s rim. This area has not been explored before, adding to the mission’s complexity.
- Ambitious Mission Design: Chandrayaan-4, as explained by Nilesh Desai, will involve landing a central module on the Moon, which will later return to Earth with soil and rock samples.
- Enhanced Rover: Unlike Chandrayaan-3’s 30 kg rover, Chandrayaan-4 plans to deploy a much larger 350 kg rover for exploration.
- Precise Landing: Chandrayaan-4 aims to land precisely on the Moon’s rim, an area yet to be explored, with a larger exploration area of 1 km x 1 km.
- Complex Sample Return: The mission’s success hinges on its ability to return lunar soil samples to Earth, involving docking between the lander and orbiting module in space.
Returning Samples
The success of Chandrayaan-4 depends on bringing back lunar soil samples to Earth. This involves the lander module docking with the orbiting module in space and returning the samples safely.
Collaboration with JAXA
- Collaboration with JAXA: ISRO is collaborating with JAXA on the LuPEX mission, which will explore the Moon’s darker side with a rover weighing up to 350 kg.
- Scale and Complexity: Chandrayaan-4’s operation will require two launch vehicles, indicating the mission’s scale and complexity.