The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after its historic success with the Chandrayaan-III mission is already gearing up for the next lunar mission named Chandrayaan-IV. The mission will not be launched in a single phase akin to its predecessor, instead, two separate launches will push vehicles that will not only land on the moon but also return rocks and soils (lunar regolith) to India.
While Chandrayaan-III consisted of three components, the lander, rover and propulsion module, the Chandrayaan-IV mission will have two more additional components tasked to return the samples from the moon and drop them on Earth. The Chandrayaan-IV components will consist of five spacecraft modules, according to a presentation given by ISRO Chief S Somanath at the National Space Science Symposium.
The five modules are Propulsion Module, which is similar to the Chandrayaan-III will guide Chandrayaan-IV in lunar orbit before separating. The second one is Descender Module which will make the lunar landing similar to the Vikram lander on Chandrayaan-III. The third component is the Ascender module. Once the samples are collected and stored, the ascender module will eject from lander and return to earth.
The fourth module is called transfer module and it will be responsible for grabbing the ascender module and getting it out of lunar orbit. It will journey back to earth before the capsule with rock and soil samples detach. The last and the fifth one is the Re-entry Module. This will be the capsule carrying lunar regolith that will land on Earth after a return journey from the moon.
The five components will not be launched altogether, according to the ISRO Chief, India’s heaviest launch vehicle LVM-3 will launch with three components, which are Propulsion Module, Descender and Ascender Module.
This will be a similar launch to the Chandrayaan-III mission in 2023. The transfer and re-entry module will be launched aboard the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle). ISRO is yet to reveal final details as to which launch will be there first.
This will however, be the first such mission involving two launch vehicles aimed at completing a single mission. Chandrayaan-IV aims to build on the accomplishments of the recently concluded Chandrayaan-III mission while attempting more complex objectives. If successful, then Chandrayaan-IV will make India the fourth nation to bring back samples from the lunar surface.
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