Ahmedabad: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somnath announced plans to continue Chandrayaan missions until an Indian lands on the moon. This comes after the success of Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing on the lunar south pole in August.
At an event in Ahmedabad hosted by the Astronautical Society of India, Somnath talked about ISRO’s space exploration goals. He said, “Chandrayaan 3 has done very well. Data has been collected and scientific publication has just started. Now, we want to continue the Chandrayaan series till an Indian lands on the Moon. Before that, we have to master many technologies, such as going there and coming back. That we are trying to do in the next mission.”
Somnath revealed ISRO’s plans for India’s first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan. This includes an unmanned mission, a test vehicle flight, and an airdrop test scheduled for this year. The airdrop test is happening on April 24, followed by two more unmanned missions next year, and the manned mission by the end of the following year.
ISRO’s new rocket engine technology, a lightweight Carbon-Carbon (C-C) nozzle developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, is set to improve key aspects of rocket engines like thrust levels and payload capacity, Somnath informed. The C-C nozzle is to be installed in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). It will improve engine efficiency and payload capacity because of its lightweight construction and ability to operate at higher temperatures.
