While India rejoiced at the successful landing of ISRO lander Vikram on the moon’s unknown south pole, the agency’s chairman S Somanath on Thursday confirmed that its first solar-powered mission, Aditya, is in the pipeline and will launch in September. emission.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned future missions to the sun and Venus in a brief address to the nation after the lander touched down on the dark side of the moon on Wednesday.
A day after ISRO included India in the elite international club following India’s successful first moon landing mission, the head of ISRO told ANI: “The ‘Aditya’ mission is in the pipeline and will Be ready to launch right the first time.” Week in September. We are also planning a mission by the end of September or October to demonstrate our crew capsule and crew escape capabilities, followed by many test missions until we launch our first crewed space mission (Gaganyaan), probably in 2025. “
When the Vikram lander landed flawlessly on the south side of the moon, Somanath said his emotions were beyond words as the lander approached the lunar surface.
“It was a sense of joy, a sense of accomplishment and gratitude to all my fellow scientists who contributed to the success of this mission,” Somanath told ANI.
He added that the lunar south pole has the potential for human settlement, which is why the agency has made it the preferred landing site for the lander.
“We’re already close to the (lunar) south pole, which is at almost a 70-degree angle to where the lander will be placed. The south pole has the particular advantage of being less exposed to the sun. There’s potential (for human settlement)) because more science content ( on the south side of the Moon). The scientists working on this project have shown a lot of interest in the South Pole because of the larger goal of allowing humans to colonize the Moon and travel farther afield. We are looking for the best landing site to establish a colony in the distant future, and the lunar south pole fits the bill,” said ISRO chief.
Referring to the “Pragyan” rover, which rolled out of the lander after a successful landing on the south side of the moon, Somanat said a team will soon begin a path-planning exercise for the robot, This will be key to future deep space exploration.
“Pragyan Rover has two instruments, both of which are related to the discovery of the elemental composition on the moon and its chemical composition. It will also roam the lunar surface. We will also conduct robotic path planning exercises, which will be important for future exploration of the deep space,” said the head of ISRO.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) revealed on its official account on X (formerly Twitter) that the “Pragyaan” rover rolled out of its landing module on Thursday morning and began exploring the unknown southern side of the moon.
The agency said earlier on Thursday that the lander made a historic touchdown at the moon’s south pole, taking India where no other country has gone.
“Ch-3 rover touches down from lander, India walks on moon. More updates coming soon,” ISRO posted on X.
Pawan K Goenka, Chairman of India’s National Space Promotion and Licensing Centre, a single-window, stand-alone nodal agency functioning as an autonomous institution in India, shared the first images of the six-wheeled robotic vehicle Pragyan rolling out from Vikram. Department of Space (DOS).
After a 40-day journey in space, the Vikram lander touched down on the moon’s south pole on Wednesday night.
India has also become the fourth country to successfully land on the moon after the United States, Russia and China.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landed the Vikram lander on the lunar surface, tilting to a horizontal position before touchdown.
The spacecraft was launched on July 14 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
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