After the success of Chandrayaan-3, the Indian Space Organization (ISRO) is gearing up for the next mission to Moon. Chandrayaan-4/LUPEX is expected to bring rock and soil samples from Moon to Earth as part of this experiment.
Director, Space Applications Centre (SAC/ISRO), Ahmedabad, Nilesh Desai said the two ambitious lunar missions — LUPEX and Chandrayaan-4 aim at landing huge 350 kg landers on 90-degree (the darker side) of the moon with precise landing technology and sample return mission respectively.
“After the euphoria generated after Chandrayaan 3 mission now we are going to work on the joint Lunar Polar exploration Mission, this time (Chandrayaan-3) we went up to 70 degrees, in LUPEX mission we will go up to 90 degrees to observe the dark side of the moon and landing a huge rover there which weigh up to 350 kg, Chandrayaan-3 rover was 30 kg only therefore lander will also be huge in this mission.” Desai explained.
Speaking about the Chandrayaan 4 Mission, Desai said,”During a discussion about space programs after Chandrayaan 3 success, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted us to take up the bigger challenges now.”
The Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX) is being prepared for the surface of the Moon. The lander of Chandrayaan-3 landed on the South Pole of the Moon at about 70 degrees south latitude. The lander will land on Chandrayaan-4 at 90 degrees south latitude. In this, ISRO will send a rover weighing 350 kg (Rover weighs 30 kg in Chandrayaan-3). It orbits the moon for a distance of kilometer. Chandrayaan-3 mission life is 14 days. But, Chandrayaan-4 will operate for about 100 days.
During the 100 days of time, the instruments on the rover will collect rocks and soil samples on the moon and bring them back to Earth. Two carriers have to be prepared for this project. Neel Desai revealed that it will take five to ten years. He said that ISRO is working with Japan Space Agency for this.
On August 23, India took a giant leap as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon's South Pole, making it the first country to have achieved the historic feat and bringing to an end the disappointment over the crash landing of the Chandrayaan-2, four years ago. India became the fourth country - after the US, China, and Russia - to have successfully landed on the moon's surface.
After having landed, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover performed different sets of tasks on the lunar surface, including finding the presence of sulphur and other minor elements, recording relative temperature, and listening to movements around it.