India is planning for another soft landing on Moon
surface by the end of 2020. Sources from the Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) said that after an unsuccessful bid two months ago, it would take
another chance of soft landing by November 2020.
The
ISRO had constituted a high-level committee, headed by S Somanath, Director of
Thiruvanathapuram-based Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, the lead centre
responsible for all launch vehicle programmes of ISRO, to prepare a report on
the proposed Chandrayaan-3.
A
senior ISRO officer said, "Although, the panel's report is still awaited,
the committee has been directed to be ready for the by the end of November
2020”. "There is a good launch window in November," the official
said.
"Rover,
lander and landing operations will get more focus this time and whatever
deficiencies in the Chandrayaan-2 mission will be corrected," sources in
the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency said.
On
September 7, ISRO attempted a soft landing of Chandrayaan-2's lander 'Vikram'
on the unchartered lunar South Pole, before losing communication with it.
A
national level committee consisting of academics and ISRO experts, headed by V
Narayanan, Director of the space agency's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre has
analysed the cause of communication loss with the lander.
The
members of the panel included those from VSSC and UR Rao Satellite Centre.
Another
ISRO officer stressed, "This committee has pin-pointed as to what went
wrong. They have prepared a voluminous report and are believed to have
submitted it to the Space Commission”.