The Cabinet approved the Chandrayaan-4 mission. The goal of this mission is to land the spacecraft on the Moon, collect samples, and return them safely to Earth.
The Cabinet also approved the creation of the Venus Orbiter mission and the Indian Space Station (BAS). A plan has been developed to launch both missions by 2028.
1. Chandrayaan-4 Mission: In this Rs 2,104 crore mission, moon rocks and soil will be brought back to Earth. Two different rockets will be used in the mission. The heavyweight LVM-3 and ISRO’s reliable workhorse PSLV will carry different payloads.
Stack 1 consists of the ascending module for collecting lunar samples and the descending module for collecting lunar samples on the surface. Stack 2 consists of a propulsion module for thrust, a transfer module for storing the samples and a re-entry module to bring the samples to Earth.
2. Venus Orbiter Mission: A budget of Rs 1,236 crore has been retained. It is scheduled to launch in March 2028. The primary goal of VOM is to increase our understanding of the surface and atmosphere of Venus, as well as the Sun’s influence on Venus’ atmosphere.
Venus is the closest planet to Earth. Venus has a lot of information that can help us better understand Earth and exoplanets.
3. Indian Space Station: The Cabinet also approved the development of the first module of the Indian Space Station (BAS-1) by expanding the scope of the Gaganyaan programme. The revised Gaganyaan program includes eight missions, including the BAS-1 unit. It is expected to be completed by December 2028.
The total funding for the Gaganyaan scheme has been increased from Rs 11,170 crore to Rs 20,193 crore. In ‘Gaganyaan’, 3 Gaganyatri will be sent to Earth’s orbit 400 KM above for a 3 day mission. After that, the crew module will land safely at sea.
If India succeeds in its mission, it will become the fourth country to do so. America, China and Russia have already done this.
On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin of Soviet Russia stayed in space for 108 minutes. On May 5, 1961, American Alan Shepherd stayed in space for 15 minutes. On October 15, 2003, Chinese Yang Yang stayed in space for 21 minutes. hours.
Prime Minister Modi had announced the Gaganyaan mission in 2018 In 2018, Prime Minister Modi had announced the Gaganyaan Mission in his Independence Day speech. A target was set to complete this mission by 2022. However, this was delayed due to the Covid pandemic. It is now expected to be completed by the end of 2024 or early 2025. A budget of around Rs 90.23 billion has been allocated for the Gaganyaan mission.