After Chandrayaan-2, Here Are Some Important Missions That ISRO Is Working On

For the officials working at ISRO and Indian citizens across the country, it was a stressful moment waiting for the Chandrayaan-2 to make a smooth landing. But things went wrong in the 13^th minute as the craft failed to lower its speed to the necessary level.

For now, ISRO has completely lost contact with the Vikram lander. However, hope still remains as the ISRO official statement read,

The ISRO official also added that with the orbiter taking photos of the lander, they can know about its status. Inside the lander, there is a rover whose lifespan is only 14 days. Although the failed landing might have broken many people’s hearts, the efforts of the whole team didn’t go to waste.

After the Chandrayaan-2 mission, here are some future missions that are currently under development at ISRO.

1. Gaganyaan

With this project, a crew with three members will travel into space for the minimum amount of time of seven days. The project is set to be carried out in 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the project for the first time during his 2019 Independence Day speech.

ISRO is in the process of developing the spacecraft which has a service module as well as a crew module, known as the Orbital Module.

At the Bengaluru Space Expo’s 6^th edition, the Gaganyaan crew model, along with the orange spacesuits, were presented by the Indian space agency. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre was the location that saw the development of the spacesuit. The Gaganyaan Program requires a total fund of Rs 10,000 crore.

2. Shukrayaan mission

Another big project in the list is planet Venus exploration.

ISRO plans on sending an orbiter into space to study Venus’ atmosphere, which is mostly carbon dioxide. The mission, which is called Shukrayaan, will study the hot and dense atmosphere as well as the surface of Venus using a probe. The plan is to carry out the mission in 2023.

3. Indian space station

This is one of the agency’s most important plans. The weight of the station will be around 15 to 20 tons. People will be able to stay at the station for 15 to 20 days. A detailed report will be submitted by ISRO to the Indian Government, detailing its plan. The plan of setting up a space station will take from five to seven years to conceptualize.

4. Mangalyaan 2

On November 5, 2013, India launched its first-ever Mars Orbiter Mission, using PSLV-C25 rocket.

For the next Mars mission, the Mangalyaan 2 will study the surface, atmosphere, mineralogy, and morphology of the red planet. The second mission is scheduled to take place in 2024. As stated on the website of ISRO, using aerobraking, the orbiter will bring down its initial apoapsis. Then it will enter an orbit which is more suited for observations.

5. Aditya-L1

Aditya/Aditya-L1 is ISRO’s Sun exploration mission.

The Aditya-L1 spacecraft will be in an orbit whose distance from Earth is 1.5 million km. While orbiting, it won’t have any problem in observing the Sun, even during eclipses.

The first mission of India to study the Sun can be launched as soon as 2020, according to Chief K Siva of the Indian Space Research Organization. He added that there are many things about the sun that the astronomers and the scientists have yet to learn and the Aditya-L1 mission is set to address some questions.