A file picture of members of the lunar polar exploration mission reviewing the mission with the ISRO workforce in Bengaluru on April 27, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Murali Kumar Okay
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath met Dr. Saku Tsuneka, Director General, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, on August 8. They mentioned area science cooperation between India and Japan.
According to ISRO, India-Japan area science cooperation at nationwide stage, area company stage (ISRO & JAXA), and institute-level had been mentioned with particular reference to the joint LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration) mission.
The Indo-Japanese LUPEX mission was envisaged to discover the ‘dark side of the moon’, or in scientific phrases, the aspect that’s perpetually dealing with away from Earth.
The important goal of the mission is to substantiate the presence of water in the polar areas of the moon.
The mission is predicted to be launched in the following couple of years. The launch automobile for the mission will likely be a Japanese rocket, the lander system will likely be developed by ISRO and the rover by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Its touchdown level would be the south pole of the moon.
During the assembly with Dr. Tsuneka, who can be Vice-Chair of Japan’s Cabinet Committee on National Space Policy, potential cooperation alternatives in utilisation of data from Aditya L1 and Chandrayaan-3 missions, improvement of smaller lander for lunar exploration; and joint actions beneath QUAD Space working group had been additionally mentioned.
ISRO is planning to launch the Aditya-L1 mission in August-end, or early September. Aditya-L1 is the primary Indian area mission to watch the Sun and the solar corona.
The Chandrayaan-3 moon mission, which was launched on July 14, has been efficiently inserted into lunar orbit. The lander is predicted to the touch down on the lunar floor on August 23.
