India’s Next Mangal Mission Likely To Be An Orbiter
Timeframe of Mangalyaan-2 has not been finalised yet
On a day when Nasa’s rover Perseverance landed on Mangal to look for signs of past life on the Red Planet, chief of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) K Sivan said India would also send a second Mangal mission and this mission is likely to be an orbiter.
However it is not yet known when this mission, named Mangalyaan-2, will be ready.
As per a report by news agency PTI, Sivan said Mangalyaan-2 will be undertaken only after the launch of Chandrayaan-3, India’s upcoming Lunar mission.
In Chandrayaan-3, ISRO would be aiming to land a rover on the Lunar surface. This mission has been delayed due to the coronavirus-induced pandemic. It is expected that that the mission will lift off in 2022.
Speaking about the Mangal mission to PTI, Sivan said landing there is “more tough”.
After its first Mangal Orbiter Mission (MOM) was successful, ISRO called for ‘Announcement of Opportunities’ on MOM-2.
Sivan said Mangalyaan-1, India’s first Mangal mission, is “still working good” and sending data.
“It is now planned to have the next orbiter mission around Red Planet for a future launch opportunity,” according to the Announcement of Opportunities.
Sivan said the space agency had asked the scientific community for suggestions on possible experiments and it is in the process of receiving these. “Once we get these suggestions, we will prepare a project report and have discussion in (an expert) committee. Then we will go to Space Commission,” Sivan was quoted as saying by PTI.
Speaking about Mangalyaan-2, he said it will only be an orbiter mission.
Mangalyaan-1 was launched in November 2013 and entered the Planets orbit in September 2014.
It was designed to work for six months but now the mission is in its seventh year.
Mangalyaan-1 or Mangal Orbiter Mission was India’s first endeavour to successfully reach another planet.
The launch vehicle, spacecraft and ground segment cost Rs 450 crore, one of the cheapest missions to Mangal so far.
The Mangal orbiter has sent thousands of pictures totalling more than two terabytes. ISRO has other major projects lined up. After the Mangal Orbiter Mission’s success, it also decided to explore planet Shukra.
