New Delhi: India's mega moon mission is now given wings, with Chandrayaan-5 receiving clearance for takeoff a few days ago by the Union government. The project will ferry a 250 kg rover to the surface of the Moon, which is a great stepping stone in India's scientific exploration of the Moon. The approval was confirmed by ISRO Chairman V Narayanan, who explained that the new mission will be a major step in the Indian Lunar Exploration Programme, that is, the Chandrayaan programme.
Chandrayaan-5 shall be the fifth mission under this program, intended to build on the successes of its predecessor, Chandrayaan-3. The earlier Chandrayaan-3 mission made headlines by having India become the first country to soft-land on the Moon's South Pole. Only three other countries, namely the US, Russia, and China, have done this so far. Chandrayaan-5, however, will go much further. Unlike the 25 kg rover that went along with Chandrayaan-3, Prayagyaan, this great 250 kg rover is meant for more serious science payload and science mission collaboration with Japan, enhancing the rover's scientific capabilities and more.
"We have received approval for Chandrayaan-5 just a few days ago, and this opens a new era in the space exploration journey of India," Narayanan mentioned, adding that the rover would carry out extensive studies of the Moon's surface and gather data related to it in detail.
Going ahead, ISRO intends to set high targets. Apart from the Chandrayaan-5, the agency proposes the Chandrayaan-4 mission to return lunar samples by 2027. India envisages a $44 billion space sector by the 2030s and plans to put Chandrayaan-6 in space, along with future missions such as Gaganyaan human spaceflight and Venus Orbiter Mission. Besides this, somewhere in 2045, ISRO plans to put an Indian on the Moon and make an Indian Space Station.
[Source Credit: NDTV]
