Amidst national jubilation over the successful placement of ISRO’s lunar lander ‘Vikram’ on the moon’s uncharted South Pole, agency chairman S Somanath confirmed the upcoming launch of its inaugural solar mission ‘Aditya’. In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to future missions to the Sun and Venus in his post-landing address, Somanath revealed that “Aditya” is set for launch in September. He also highlighted plans for a crew module demonstration by the end of September or October, followed by various test missions leading up to the anticipated manned mission to space, “Gaganyaan,” potentially by 2025.
Reflecting on the successful lunar landing mission, Somanath conveyed a mixture of joy, accomplishment, and gratitude for his fellow scientists who contributed to the mission’s triumph. The agency’s choice of the moon’s South Pole as the landing site for ‘Vikram’ was attributed to its potential for human settlement and scientific exploration, as it receives less sunlight and offers a strategic location for potential lunar colonies.
Somanath outlined the significance of the ‘Pragyan’ rover that emerged from the lander post-touchdown. He shared plans for a crucial robotic path planning exercise, a key component for future deep space explorations. The rover boasts instruments for elemental and chemical composition analysis of the moon’s surface.
As the ‘Pragyan’ rover embarked on its exploration of the uncharted lunar south face, ISRO celebrated the historic achievement. The successful lunar landing positioned India as the fourth country, following the US, Russia, and China, to accomplish this feat. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft carried the Vikram lander, which landed on the moon’s surface after being launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on July 14.
