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

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.

ISRO has set an ambitious target to launch Chandrayaan-4 by 2027, aiming to achieve the engineering milestone of mid-space docking.

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.

“Research conducted to solve the problems during space exploration accelerates the development of science and improves human life.”- DROUPADI MURMU, President, Government of India

This complex engineering feat, validated first with Chandrayaan-3, marks a significant advancement for ISRO. Moreover, Chandrayaan-3’s scientific studies have confirmed the existence of key minerals on the lunar surface, indicating significant volcanic activity and suggesting that the moon is not an alien object but rather one whose history is closely linked with Earth. This was further underscored by India’s experiments near the lunar south polar basin, which is among our solar system’s largest known craters on any celestial body.

Chandrayaan-4

ISRO has set an ambitious target to launch Chandrayaan-4 by 2027, aiming to achieve the engineering milestone of mid-space docking to ensure mission success. The primary objective of Chandrayaan-4 is to position India as only the fourth nation to collect lunar soil samples, following the US, the erstwhile Soviet Union, and China. Achieving this milestone will significantly enhance India’s geopolitical standing as a leading spacefaring nation, contributing to fundamental and applied research.

The mission will feature a new rover designed with mid-space docking capabilities, a critical technology Chandrayaan-4 will validate for ISRO. This advancement will be pivotal for ISRO’s future space exploration goals.

Bharatiya Antariksha Station

Once completed and placed in orbit, the Indian Space Station or Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) is poised to become one of only two state-owned space stations, reflecting India’s growing prominence in space exploration. Recent reports indicate that the Department of Space has prioritised this mission, and BAS is set to play a crucial role in enhancing India’s geopolitical influence among spacefaring economies.

The strategic significance of BAS is further underscored by the fact thavndt the only other state-owned space station is China’s, which faces geopolitical challenges with the West. Meanwhile, Russia, which has strained its relations with the West, maintains strong ties with India but lacks its space station. This context underscores the strategic importance of an Indian space station in the next few decades.

ISRO plans to launch the first BAS module by 2028, but significant challenges lie ahead. Acknowledging this, ISRO Chairman S Somanath has said that building and deploying the space station structure will be complex. “First, we have to build a new rocket that will have greater payload capacity than our current GSLV and LVM3 are capable of. This will then be used to launch the modules of the space station in orbit,” Somanath has said in the past.

“India needs to build a new rocket that will have greater payload capacity than our current GSLV and LVM3 are capable of.”- SREEDHARA P SOMANATH, Chairman, ISRO

Once these hurdles are crossed, ISRO aims to deploy the space station and make it fully operational by 2035. When operational, this could potentially serve as a key bridge between the US, Europe, Russia, and other global players in space exploration.

Next-Gen Launch Vehicle

A cornerstone of ISRO’s future ambitions is the Next-Gen Launch Vehicle (NGLV), codenamed Surya. This advanced rocket is designed to significantly enhance India’s spacefaring capabilities, with an expected payload capacity of 30 tonnes to low-earth orbit (LEO) and 10 tonnes to geosynchronous orbit (GEO). This marks a substantial leap from the LVM3’s capacity, approximately 4.5 tonnes to GEO and 3 tonnes to LEO.

However, despite these advancements, Surya will still be behind the largest rockets from the United States. SpaceX’s Falcon-9 Heavy, for instance, boasts a payload capacity of 70 tonnes to LEO and 30 tonnes to GEO. Nonetheless, the NGLV will be crucial in India’s continued ascent as a major spacefaring nation.

Gaganyaan

ISRO’s most ambitious project, Gaganyaan, aims to place an Indian citizen on the lunar surface—a milestone that would underscore India’s space engineering prowess. The first significant step towards this goal is expected by the end of 2024, with a trial unmanned launch.

Leading the Gaganyaan mission is Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is also slated to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Axiom Space’s Ax-4 mission, scheduled for October 2024. This mission will provide India with crucial experience in orbital space operations, following in the footsteps of Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic 1984 journey aboard the Soyuz-T11—the only instance of an Indian citizen in space to date.

While astronauts of Indian origin, such as the late Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, have made their mark in space, they did so as US citizens. The Gaganyaan mission aims to change that by landing an Indian on the moon, with a target date set for no earlier than 2040. This mission will serve as a testament to India’s growing capabilities in space exploration and its commitment to pushing the boundaries of human achievement.

By Vernika Awal

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