ISRO Unveils Exciting Plans for Gaganyaan Mission
Mumbai, November 25 (ANI): The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced an update on its ambitious human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan, which is expected to make India's maiden journey into space by the end of this year.
According to ISRO Chairman Somanath, efforts are being made to launch India's first human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan, and the organization has completed the engineering for a new mission. The Union Cabinet had approved the building of the first unit of the Bharatiya Anatriksh Station by extending the scope of the Gaganyaan program in September.
Somanath stated that ISRO will station scientists abroad ships at strategic observation points in the Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans to monitor the mission, which marks a significant step towards achieving the nation's first human spaceflight. The plan includes launching an unmanned mission as part of the project in March next year.
"We are trying to launch it by the end of this year," Somanath said during his visit to the Space Expo in Karnataka's Bengaluru on Friday.
The Gaganyaan Programme approved in December 2018 envisions undertaking human spaceflight to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and laying the foundation of technologies needed for an Indian human space exploration programme in the long run.
Additionally, the Union Cabinet had also approved the Chandrayaan-4 mission in September, aimed at developing and demonstrating technologies to return to Earth after successfully landing on the moon and collecting samples. The Chandrayaan-4 mission aims to achieve foundational technologies and capabilities eventually for an Indian landing on the moon (planned by 2040) and safely returning back to Earth.
The ISRO chief described the mission as a more complex endeavor, requiring two launches, whereas Chandrayaan 3 only had one objective, which is to land softly on the moon. The overall size of the satellite becomes almost double due to the complexity of the return process.
These initiatives and updates from ISRO indicate significant progress in India's space exploration program, with key milestones expected to be achieved under the Gaganyaan mission.