ISRO To Launch Chandrayaan-3 In August, To Lift Off 19 Other Missions In 2022

Chandrayaan-3: Over two years after the fatal end of India’s second Moon mission, the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to start the third lunar exploration programme with the launch of Chandrayaan-3 in August this year, said the Ministry of Space. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said, based on the learnings from Chandrayaan-2 and suggestions made by the national level experts, the realization of Chandrayaan-3 is in progress.Also Read – ISRO: Dr. S Somanath, Team Lead For Integration of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle Now New Chief Of ISRO

“Many related hardware and their special tests are successfully completed and the Launch is scheduled for August 2022,” the Minister said. Also Read – Who Is S Somanath, Kerala Scientist To Be Appointed New ISRO Chief | Your 10-Point Guide

He further informed that ISRO is planning to launch 19 other missions between January to December in 2022. This includes– eight launch vehicle missions, seven spacecraft missions and four technology demonstrator missions. Also Read – ISRO: Gaganyaan To Be Finally Launched In 2023, India Becomes Fourth Nation To Launch Human Spaceflight | Must Watch

“Several ongoing missions were impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, reprioritization of projects has taken place in the backdrop of Space Sector reforms and newly introduced demand-driven models,” he added.

Notably, the Chandrayaan-3 mission was slated to launch in 2021 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lunar spacecraft takes cues from the first Chandrayaan mission launched in October 2008 that made many major discoveries, including finding evidence of water on the moon.

India’s second lunar programme was not as successful as its first one after the Chandrayaan-2 crash-landed on the far side of the Moon. After the crash, its lander and the rover crashed, but the orbiter is still hovering above the lunar surface. ISRO plans to use a second mission orbit with Chandrayaan-3.

As per former ISRO chief K Sivan, the configuration of Chandrayaan-3 will be almost similar to Chandrayaan-2 but instead of the orbiter, lander and rover configuration, the new mission will have a lander and rover with a propulsion module.

The Chandrayaan-3’s lander and craft costs approximately Rs 250 crore, whereas the launch cost will be around Rs 350 crore.

(With ANI inputs)