With Mangalyan 2 in the offing, Russia China too plan joint Mangal Mission

ISRO has unveiled its plans for Mangalyaan-2, Bharat’s next Mangal mission. After the grand success of the Mangalyaan or the Mangal Orbiter Mission, which some Western newspapers had termed as “ gate crashing into the space club “this new endeavour is certainly to further expand the boundaries of Bharat’s space exploration capabilities.

Mangalyaan-2 will feature a combination of a rover and a helicopter, mirroring the approach employed by NASA’s Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter.

 Engineers in ISRO are currently working on developing cutting-edge technologies, such as a new type of parachute and a sky-crane, to ensure a safe and precise deployment of the rover on the Martian surface. These two components will be used for a safe and stable descent of the rover during landing.

The above information were made during a presentation on National Technology Day at the Space Application Centre last week. ISRO’s heaviest rocket – the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3) will be utilized for the Mangal mission.

One of the most innovative aspects of Mangalyaan-2 will be the inclusion of a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), that will carry ‘Marble’ or the Mangal Boundary Layer Explorer.’ This aerial vehicle will soar up to 100 meters above the surface of planet Mangal and profile the planet’s atmosphere with unprecedented detail.

ISRO is also planning to deploy a dedicated relay communication satellite ahead of the mission’s launch to ensure seamless communication between the mission and Prithvi.

This satellite, launched aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), will act as a crucial link, facilitating uninterrupted and efficient data transfer between the two planets Mangal and Prithvi.

ISRO’s Mangalyaan, was launched on November 5, 2013. Designed for a lifespan of just six months, the orbiter defied expectations and continued to operate for an impressive eight years around Mangal, until ISRO lost contact with it in 2022.

Meanwhile during President Putin visit to China, it has come out that even China and Russia plan a joint effort to explore planet Mangal. Russian President Putin called the proposal to unfold Russian and Chinese flags together on the surface of Mangal in the future a good idea.

At Harbin Polytechnic University Putin visited an exhibition, dedicated to space technologies In particular, he was shown a mock Mars rover with an automatic flag unfolding technology. Chinese representatives noted that they would like to keep working in the space area with Russia, and would like to see Russian and Chinese flags to be unfolded on planet Mangal’s surface together.

The Harbin Polytechnic University is one of the lead Chinese technical colleges, a major centre of scientific innovations and designs, with over 58,000 students. Since May, 2020, the university has been subjected to US sanctions, the official reason for that is “purchase and attempted purchase of US-made goods for support of programs, related to the People’s Liberation Army of China.”.