In a big revelation, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief S Somanath said that the space agency will continue its lunar missions until and unless an Indian astronaut lands on the surface of the moon. India’s moon mission is fully focused on getting an Indian to land on the moon and till then all relevant data and technological refinements will be carried out.
While Chandrayaan-3 was a big step forward and total success, the next objective is to get Chandrayaan-4 into the space schedule. “Chandrayaan-3 had done very well. Data has been collected and scientific publications have just started. This was revealed by ISRO Chairman S Somanath on April 17, 2024.
Among the notable achievements made so far, have been that India has become the first country to land a spacecraft on the South Pole of the moon. “Now we want to continue the Chandrayaan series till an Indian lands on the moon, but before that, we have to master many technologies, such as going there and coming back. That we are trying to do in out next mission, Somanath told reporters at an event in Ahmedabad organised by the Astronautical Society of India.
“While the Moon has been taking up lot of time and attention of the ISRO, the other projects will continue apace. In this regard, the Gaganyaan, India’s first space flight mission will see ISRO carry out an uncrewed mission, a test vehicle flight mission and airdrop test this year,” Somanath said.
“The airdrop test will happen on April 24, 2024, then two more uncrewed missions will happen next year and then the manned mission, if everything goes well by the end of next year, “he added. The Gaganyaan Project will launch a crew of three members to an orbit of 400km and bringing them back safely to earth, the landing will be in the sea.
Somanath also spent some time explaining an amazing new part developed by the ISRO Carbon-Carbon Nozzle for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV) rocket engines the nozzle is expected to enhance the vital parameters of rocket engines.
“The nozzle is expected to enhance the vital parameters of the rocket engines, including thrust levels specific impulse and thrust to weight ratio and thereby improve payload capacity. It gives us a weight advantage in comparison to metal and it allows us to operate at high temperatures. Reduction in weight improves the efficiency and payload capacity,” Somanath explained.
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