Category Archives: Chandrayaan-4

Tuesday / 22 October 2024

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ISRO Aims to Confirm Lunar Water with Chandrayaan 4 / 5 Moon Landers

P Veeramuthuvel of ISRO reports Chandrayaan 4 to launch NET 2027-2028 for surface / sub-surface sample return, landing 85-90° S in region where permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) are hoped to harbor water ice, will need 2 launches / remote docking in orbit; Chandrayaan 5, ISRO-JAXA collaboration now called LUPEX flies NET 2028-2029, 6,000-kg lander taking rover precisely to 89.45° S / 222.85° E on ridge between Shackleton / de Gerlache craters near PSRs, similar to China Chang’E-7 / abandoned VIPER missions, surviving lunar night is core goal, likely to use same Americium-352 radioisotope heater units (RHUs) as Chandrayaan 3

Credits: Arizona State University, ISRO, JAXA, IAF

Friday / 4 October 2024

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S Somanath of ISRO Continues Visionary Leadership for India Moon / Space Exploration

Dr. Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since January 2022, has clear vision of India in the forefront of exploration beginning with Moon, oversaw Chandrayaan-3 Statio Shiv Shakti landing near 70° South; focuses on Space Vision-2047 missions including Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-series, others, Bharatiya Antariksha Station development, humans to Moon by 2040; plans Chandrayaan-4 sample return mission of 2-5 kg from lunar South pole to enhance understanding of Earth-Moon System origin; posits that ISRO aims for the stars but “will not forget the farmer or fisherman while exploring the Solar System,” emphasizes space technology must improve life on Earth

Credits: (S Somanath; ISRO: L – LVM3 launch vehicle for Chandrayaan-3, R – Chandrayaan-4 model)

Tuesday / 14 May 2024

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ispace Projects Significant Demand of Lunar Services, ISRO Targeting Shiv Shakti with Chandrayaan-4

Japan first commercial lunar lander company ispace projecting 138% increase in year-on-year net sales, growing to JPY¥4,033M (US$25.8M) in FY2024 possibly buoyed by international orders for lunar landers and robots, especially from USA, which may mitigate expected JPY¥12,465M ($79.8M) loss, with ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada (R) characterizing business environment as ‘quite positive‘ in light of USA-Japan Artemis agreement; Nilesh Desai, director of Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad, declares Shiv Shakti point (Statio Shiv Shakti by IAU designation, 69.373°S, 32.319°E) will be destination of Chandrayaan-4, building on successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, possibly returning sample closer to MSP than any previous NET 2028

 
Credits: ispace, ISRO, SAC