India's Footprint on Space and Beyond

-- Adina Ann Jacob, 8-A, ICSK Senior

Thursday, January 11, 2024

India, a country of Unity in Diversity with a rich cultural heritage and a long history, has made impressive advancements in space exploration. India's space efforts have drawn attention from throughout the globe, from the highly successful Mangalyaan to the Chandrayaan missions which focus on lunar exploration. India's footprint in space is expected to grow even further with the upcoming progress of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and the ambitious Solar Mission 2023.

The government of India's space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), is in charge of the country's space exploration and research initiatives. Since its founding in 1969, ISRO has grown to become one of the world's most prestigious space agencies, renowned for its innovative and known for its cost-effective and technologically advanced space programs.

The Chandrayaan-3 Mission is one of ISRO's most recent and widely regarded significant missions. Another name for the Chandrayaan Mission is the Indian Lunar Exploration Programme. The mission contains a rover spacecraft, a soft lander, an impactor, and a lunar orbiter. As of now, three missions have been carried out, each consisting of two orbiters, landers, and rovers. Although the two orbiters of the Chandrayaan-2 mission were successful, the first lander and rover crashed on the surface. On August 23, 2023, the second lander and rover mission, Chandrayaan-3, made a successful soft landing on the Moon, making India the fourth country after the Soviet Union, the United States, and China to have successfully landed a spacecraft in the lunar south pole region.

The upcoming missions of ISRO on the Lunar program are ‘Chandrayaan-4 - On-site sampling and analysis of collected lunar material’ to be launched in 2025; ‘Chandrayaan-5 - Lander-based rotary-percussive drilling’; and ‘Chandrayaan-5 - Lander based rotary-percussive drilling’.

India launched Aditya L1, the first solar mission, a little more than a week after the rover made a successful landing on the moon. The project's goals are to study the sun's outer layers, gain a better understanding of its physics and dynamics, and enhance knowledge of space weather. There are several reasons why studying the sun is important: it will help us better understand our solar system, forecast space weather, advance solar physics, advance energy research, and operate satellites more effectively.

India's successes in space exploration not only reflect its technological capability but also represent the collaborative attitude of the worldwide scientific community. ISRO has been actively involved in international relationships, sharing its experience and learning from other space organizations. Collaborative endeavors contribute to the collective advancement of space exploration, establishing a sense of togetherness in our thirst for discovering the secrets of the cosmos.

As India looks to the skies and beyond, its footprint in space is becoming increasingly indelible. The Chandrayaan-3 mission and Solar Mission 2023 mark significant milestones in the nation's space exploration journey. With each successful mission, India reinforces its position as an essential player in the global space community, contributing valuable data and insights that benefit not only the Indian citizens but the entire world.

Adina Ann Jacob, 8-A, ICSK Senior