India's cosmic odyssey: Reaching for the Moon and beyond

India's space ambitions extend beyond Chandrayaan-3, with plans for lunar sample returns, a national space station, and cutting-edge launch vehicles

- VERNIKA AWAL

India celebrated its maiden National Space Day on 23 August, marking the first anniversary of the historic moon landing achieved by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) through the Chandrayaan-3 mission. This landmark event commemorates a significant achievement and sets a new benchmark for the nation’s ongoing space endeavours.

Since that day, a series of media reports have highlighted that India’s space efforts have continued to progress beyond the first lunar landing. On 21 August, ISRO published the scientific findings of the Chandrayaan-3 mission in the prestigious UK-based Nature journal, showcasing India’s contributions to a deeper understanding of the lunar south polar region. These studies may also uncover crucial insights into the moon’s turbulent history.

However, India’s ambitions reach far beyond this achievement. Let us now examine Chandrayaan-3’s key contributions and the four pivotal steps forward for India’s space sector in the near future.

CHANDRAYAAN-3’S ACHIEVEMENT

The accomplishments of Chandrayaan-3 extend far beyond its scientific findings. According to ISRO stakeholders, one of the mission’s key successes was demonstrating that its landing technology is now foolproof. The mission also highlighted the need to develop a docking system in lunar orbit, which will be vital to the upcoming Chandrayaan-4 mission.

This technology is crucial because Chandrayaan-4 aims to bring lunar soil samples back to Earth. To achieve this, the mission must send an orbiter that will release a landing and experimentation rover. This rover will land on the moon, conduct experiments, collect lunar rock and soil samples, store them securely in a sanitised compartment, and then take off from the lunar surface. It will then re-enter lunar orbit and dock with the ISRO orbiter to be flown back to Earth.