After the United States, Russia and China, India wants 2020 to be its year, the year in which it will become the fourth country to reach the moon, after its Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft crashed into the surface in September.
With this mission, Indian scientists hoped to discover more about the mineral composition of the Moon and the presence of water. The first mission to the moon was Chandrayaan-1, put into lunar orbit in November 2008, without landing.
Chandrayaan 2
The new propulsion module, the lander and the rover would cost around $ 35 million, and according to the president of the Indian space agency (ISRO), K. Sivan , during a New Year’s press conference :
The Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon, which includes a lander and a rover, is approved by the Government and activities for its implementation are ongoing. We are targeting launch for this year, but it may extend into next year.
Plans to put a spacecraft with three astronauts into orbit for its first manned mission continue as planned, Sivan also noted, revealing that four candidates have already been selected for training. This would happen throughout the year 2022 .
In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars, when it launched the Mangalyaan probe into orbit around the red planet.