#157: Notes on Space Mission, Indian strategy and other details from 20+ news articles compiled
Save 24 hours with this blog post
Too much info on #Chandrayaan3; what to note & what to skip for #UPSC?
Leave it to me!😉
I have made detailed relevant notes from 20+ articles of newspaper to save you 24 hours of time🤯💪🏻
This blog post compiles
1. Upcoming Indian space missions
2. Moon missions of the other countries
3. How will payloads of Chandrayaan3 now work on moon (and for what)
4. Notes on how shall India overhaul the space strategy domestically and internationally
5. ISRO's major focus areas & upcoming tech
First, upcoming missions from ISRO!👇🏻
1. Upcoming space missions
• Aditya L1
- Mission to study sun to be kept at Lagrange Point 1
- Will be stationed 1.5mn km away from the sun
- To study corona, photosphere, chromosphere, emissions, wind/flare etc.
- Expected launch in September 2023
• Gaganyaan
- To take Indians to space, orbit the earth and bring them back
- Expected launch in 2024
• NISAR
- NASA x ISRO developed LEO observatory
- Aims to map the globe in less than 2 weeks to provide data on ecosystem, ice mass, vegetation biomass, sea-level rise, groundwater etc.
- Expected launch in Jan 2024
• Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX)
- India-Japan collaboration for joint lunar polar exploration (south pole)
- Aims to investigate water abundance in polar regions & locate long term station in this area
- Expected launch in 2024-2025
• Shukrayaan 1
- Indian maneuver to Venus, date uncertain yet
• Indian Space Station (2030)
- To be setup for microgravity experiments
- An extension of Gaganyaan; to orbit earth at 400km
2. Moon missions of other countries
a) 2023
• US: Commercial Lunar Payload Services & Lunar Trailblazer (NASA)
• China: Lunar communication & navigation satellite constellation
• Japan: Hakuto-R Lander (failed to land in April)
b) 2024
• Israel: Beresheet 2
• US: VIPER
• China: Chag'e 6
• Japan: Hakuto-II
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3.1 How will Pragyan work?
Pragyan rover is transported to Moon by Vikram lander along with multiple payloads. These payloads are sort of mini labs in themselves which are designed to send data from moon for years.
Here are details of every payload and its functions
• Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA)
To study the quakes on the moon surface
• Surface Thermo-Physical Experiment (chaSTE)
To study thermo-physical behavior of the moon surface
• Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) & Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS)
Both to study the soil of the moon's surface
• Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere & Atmosphere (RAMBHA)
To study near surface plasma activities on the moon
• Langmuir Probe
To study plasma activities on the surface
• Spectro polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE)
To study the spectro polarimetric signatures of the earth up there
Not just these, it is also carrying one of NASA's payload 👇🏻
• LASER Retroreflector Array
To study earth-moon real time distance at different positions
3.2 Major objectives of the mission
• Study the magma ocean thesis further
• Further probe discovery of water on the moon
• Probe the buried lava tubes to explore future human habitation
• Mapping of minerals to confirm the findings of Chandrayaan 1 & 2
4. Notes on way forward for Indian space policy overhaul
1. Look beyond 'frugal engineering'
• Away from celebration of cost being less than a Hollywood movie, time to think big
• Change-5 & Luna25 arrived in 1 week each while Chandrayaan3 took 6 weeks to reach moon
• 1969: Apollo 11 took just 4 days to land a man on the moon
• Therefore, to have more impactful moon projects, India needs bigger budgets and powerful rockets to reach quicker with heavier payloads
2. Look beyond government funding
• Need to move beyond govt funding to allow private capital
• Private sector already allowed via Antrix Corporation Limited & InSPAC(e)
• In line with how the Virgin and SpaceX like companies run independent missions in the west
3. Follow up privatization with International cooperation
• Frugal engineering was a product of sanctions
• With 2005 nuclear deal, India is now part of MTCR & Wassenaar Arrangement. This gives us power to set the rules for transfer of dual use tech
• Recently, we joined Artemis Accord
• Way forward shall be via space partnerships and joint Moon projects
4. Geopolitical cooperation
• Both China & US are in a race to put humans on moon (US 2025 and China 2030, expectedly)
• India shall aim for serious negotiations with US for a mutually beneficial Indian participation in Artemis Mission
5. Laws (domestic and international)
• With increased range of activity in space and on the moon, Delhi needs international and domestic laws for effective promotion & regulation
• Focus on shaping global governance of space
• Delhi must work to limit competition and expand cooperation in outer space
ISRO's major focus areas & upcoming tech
ISRO's Focus Areas
• Research
• Mitigating orbital debris
• Develop satellite systems
• Operating existing satellites
• Working with Autonomous bodies
• Maintain satellite tracking infrastructure
• Producing rockets from working with multiple vendors
Engine and Rockets Development
• Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD):
Launch vehicle for multiple mission unlike existing one time rockets (SpaceX has already achieved this tech)
• SCE-200: Powerful engine to use highly refined kerosene as fuel and oxygen as oxidiser
• SSLV: Smaller rocket to carry lighter satellites into LEO with shorter turn around time
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