India plans to deliver lunar soil samples to Earth

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has begun planning an ambitious new lunar mission, Chandrayaan-4, inspired by the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. The new mission aims to collect soil samples from the lunar south pole and return them to Earth.

The first phase of the mission involves delivering a lander and rover to the lunar surface to collect samples. The landing is likely to take place close to where Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed recently. This region is particularly interesting due to the possible presence of water ice, which could be used for life support and rocket fuel production on the Moon.

The second spacecraft, Chandrayaan-4, will send two modules into lunar orbit. One of them will take samples from the lunar surface and return them to orbit, and the other will be responsible for transporting the samples to Earth.

Director of the Space Research Center in Ahmedabad, Nilesh Desai, said that the Chandrayaan-4 mission is a very ambitious project and he hopes for its successful completion in the next 5-7 years.

India's multi-stage mission concept is somewhat reminiscent of NASA and the European Space Agency's project to bring samples from Mars to Earth (samples collected by the Perseverance rover would be delivered to Mars orbit, followed by docking with an orbiter that would then return to Earth). This project, planned for 2030, has been subject to serious criticism because its budget is huge and many technical problems and issues are still unresolved.

ISRO has not yet announced the budget for the Chandrayaan-4 mission. The objectives of this expedition reflect India's commitment to new and ambitious achievements in space exploration, supported by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi stressed the need to strive for new heights in space exploration, urging the government department to come up with a detailed plan for lunar exploration.