It will take many more years, says Sivan on manned lunar mission
Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Sivan talks in detail about the mission, outcome of the accomplishment and the future missions during a tête-à-tête with R Sathyanarayana of DT Next.
Illustration: Varghese Kallada
CHENNAI: After the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, the former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Sivan talks in detail about the mission, outcome of the accomplishment and the future missions during a tête-à-tête with R Sathyanarayana of DT Next.
What is the difference between Chandrayaan-2, which failed to land on the Moon, and Chandrayaan-3’s successful lunar mission?
•Both are the same in terms of rocket design and other parameters. Even the Lander and Rover of Chandrayaan-3 is the same as that developed for Chandrayaan-2. The second lunar mission should have been a success, but a small error (deviation in the path) cost us. However, in the Chandrayaan-3 project slight changes were made in the software.
The whole nation is happy about the success. The Chandrayaan-1 mission, which sent several data of the whole Moon, boosted the ISRO team to explore the lunar system. Soft landing is a complex procedure. But we did it accurately without any technical issues. Now our scientists have mastered it.
What does the Rover do for us to know more about the surface of the moon and its terrain? Does the rover have the capability to test the soil of the moon?
•No. It does not have a soil tester. The Rover, which is controlled by the ISRO officials, will send several pictures and data. The clarity of the pictures will be fine and this will help the scientists to analyse the surface. The Rover will also send data about the temperature of the moon and other related information, which will further help the scientists to do research works for future lunar missions.
The important and new pictures besides data, which was sent by the rover, will be released/published by ISRO periodically. The ISRO team is eagerly waiting for the data as the south pole of the Moon has not been explored or analysed so far. India would be the first country to inform the world about this part of the Moon.
A screenshot shows the surface of the Moon captured by Lander Imager Camera aboard Chandrayaan-3 during touchdown
What would be the outcome of the Chandrayaan-3 successful mission and will other developed and developing countries across the globe evince interest in joining hands with India for lunar and other space projects?
•Now, India has the technology. We can declare that the country has an indigenous formula for the lunar mission. At present, the ISRO has tied up with several countries for several launches including commercial ones. Since India has touched and will be exploring the south pole of the Moon, more countries are expected to come forward to join hands with India for not only lunar missions but also other space missions.
When is a manned lunar mission possible?
•It is not possible right now. It will take several years to send people to the moon. Lots of infrastructure including rocket design has to be prepared. Currently, it is not easy to send people to the Moon. Since the Lander has to carry the astronauts, the weight has to be increased to several folds, and at the same time, fuel capacity should also be increased. It will take a long time to design. I do not know when it would be possible.
Most importantly, the safety of the astronauts is also more important in manned lunar missions. At present, the only thing possible, which was also proposed, is to send the persons just to space above 400 kilometres from the Earth and bring them back safely. This will also take some time.
Currently, the testing of manned space missions is on. Our next mission is the Aditya-L1 satellite, which will be launched into space by the ISRO with an objective to cover the study of dynamics in the upper solar atmosphere, including the chromosphere. This satellite will likely be launched early September.
