Isro mission to bring soil samples from Moon to Earth: All details inside

Isro is arranging an ambitious move that will see the national space agency attempting to gather soil or rock samples from the Moon and bring these to Earth, in what will be its first such mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is focused on its next challenging and highly ambitious Chandrayaan-4 mission, following the successful outcome of Chandrayaan-3. 

This time, the objective is to recover soil samples from the Moon and bring them to earth. Nilesh Desai, Director of the Space Applications Centre (SAC/Isro) stated, "It's a very ambitious mission; hopefully in the next five to seven years we will meet this challenge of bringing sample from the surface of the Moon."

Isro soil sample: Chandrayaan-4 will have a heavier rover

    • Chandrayaan-4 is expected to be more complex than its forerunner.

    • The mission will deploy an essentially heavier 350kg rover on the Moon, instead of Chandrayaan-3's 30kg rover. The mission will likewise play out a difficult landing near the Shiv Shakti point.

 

    • The Chandrayaan-4 rover will have a bigger exploration zone of 1km x 1km, contrasted with Chandrayaan-3's 500m x 500m.

Soil sample from Moon to Earth: Sample return procedure

Chandrayaan-4 will follow the same landing procedure as Chandrayaan-3. The spacecraft will then, at that point, gather lunar samples and dock with one more module in space.

As the two modules head toward Earth, they will separate, with one section heading towards Earth while the other will remain in orbit, as per the ET.

The upcoming mission will apparently need two launch vehicles, further showing its intricacy. To note, Isro is yet to give any information on Chandrayaan-4.

Isro plan from Moon to Earth: In collaborates with JAXA about LuPEX lunar mission

Other than Chandrayaan-4, Isro is additionally collaborating with the Japanese space agency JAXA on another lunar mission, called LuPEX.

This mission expects to explore the Moon's darker side utilizing a 350kg rover.

Both Chandrayaan-4 and LuPEX exhibit India's extending role in space exploration and its commitment to scientific advancements in this domain.

More about Isro’s soil sample plan from Moon to Earth: Points to consider

    • Under the project, which has an anticipated launch day in 2028, soil/rock samples will be gathered from the Shiv Shakti point on the lunar surface.

    • In a departure from the standard, two launch vehicles will be utilized to undertake the mission. This is on the grounds that the activity includes four modules: Transfer, Lander, Ascender, and Re-entry.

    • The task, similar to August's profoundly effective Chandrayaan 3, is arranged for one lunar day (14 days on Earth). Likewise, up to this point, the agency's three Chandrayaan missions have concentrated on Moon's surface, soil, and samples, at the same site.

    • The LSRM is on similar lines as Nasa's collection of the very first examples from Bennu, the near-Earth asteroid. The US space office accomplished this in September with its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which got back to the Earth's atmosphere in the wake of finishing a journey that spanned seven years.

    • The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark II will be utilized for the Transfer and Re-entry modules, while GSLV Mark-III be utilized for the Ascender and Lander modules.