Major Space Missions by India — Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan, Gaganyaan and Others

India’s space exploration programme, steered by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), encompasses planetary exploration, crewed spaceflight, solar astronomy, and Earth observation. Starting from sounding rockets at Thumba, ISRO has developed indigenous launch vehicles to execute lunar soft-landings, interplanetary probes, dedicated space observatories, and human spaceflight missions.

Lunar Exploration: The Chandrayaan Programme

ISRO conceptualized the Chandrayaan series to study the mineralogical, chemical, and topographical composition of the Moon.

Chandrayaan-1 (2008)

• Launched on October 22, 2008, using the PSLV-C11 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
• Carried 11 scientific payloads, including instruments from NASA, ESA, and Bulgaria.
• The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) separated from the orbiter and struck the lunar south pole near Shackleton Crater on November 14, 2008.
• NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³) aboard the orbiter detected hydroxyl and water molecules on the lunar surface.
• The mission operated for 312 days before radio contact was lost in August 2009.

Chandrayaan-2 (2019)

• Launched on July 22, 2019, aboard the GSLV Mk III-M1 (now LVM3) launch vehicle.
• The composite spacecraft comprised an Orbiter, the Vikram Lander, and the Pragyan Rover.
• The Vikram lander lost communication at an altitude of 2.1 km and hard-landed on September 7, 2019, due to a software velocity-reduction issue.
• The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter remains operational in lunar orbit, providing high-resolution imagery through its Orbiter High-Resolution Camera (OHRC).

Chandrayaan-3 (2023)

• Launched on July 14, 2023, aboard the LVM3-M4 rocket.
• Consisted of a Propulsion Module, Vikram Lander, and Pragyan Rover.
• Successfully achieved a soft landing on the lunar south polar region on August 23, 2023.
• The landing site was officially named Shiv Shakti Point, while the Chandrayaan-2 crash site was named Tiranga Point.
• The Vikram lander carried payloads including ChaSTE (thermal properties), ILSA (seismicity), and RAMBHA-LP (plasma density).
• The Pragyan rover deployed APXS and LIBS instruments, confirming the presence of sulphur, aluminium, calcium, iron, and titanium on the lunar surface.
• India became the fourth country to achieve a lunar soft landing and the first near the lunar south pole.

Interplanetary and Solar Missions

Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan / MOM-1)

• Launched on November 5, 2013, using the PSLV-C25 rocket in its XL configuration.
• Inserted into Martian orbit on September 24, 2014, on its first attempt.
• India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit and the first country to succeed on its maiden attempt.
• Carried five indigenous payloads: MENCA, LAP, MCC, TIS, and MSM.
• The mission operated for nearly eight years before losing communication in April 2022.

Aditya-L1: Solar Observation Mission

• Launched on September 2, 2023, aboard PSLV-C57.
• Placed into a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1), located approximately 1.5 million km from Earth.
• L1 allows uninterrupted solar observation without eclipses or occultation.
• Carries seven payloads: VELC (coronagraph), SUIT (ultraviolet imager), ASPEX, PAPA, SoLEXS, HEL1OS, and digital magnetometers.

XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite)

• Launched on January 1, 2024, aboard PSLV-C58.
• Dedicated to measuring the polarization of cosmic X-rays from black holes, neutron stars, and supernova remnants.
• India became the second country after the United States (NASA’s IXPE) to operate a dedicated space observatory for X-ray polarimetry.
• Payloads include POLIX (polarimeter in energy band 8-30 keV) and XSPECT (spectroscopy in 0.8-15 keV).

AstroSat

• Launched on September 28, 2015, using PSLV-C30.
• India’s first multi-wavelength space astronomy observatory.
• Observes the universe across ultraviolet, optical, low, and high-energy X-ray bands simultaneously.

Human Spaceflight: Gaganyaan Programme

The Gaganyaan programme aims to demonstrate indigenous human spaceflight capability to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Mission Architecture and Parameters

• Targets placing a 3-member crew into a 400 km circular orbit for a 3-day mission, followed by a safe recovery in Indian waters.
• The launch vehicle is the Human Rated LVM3 (HLVM3), which includes a Crew Escape System (CES).
• The orbital module comprises the Crew Module (habitable space with life support) and the Service Module.
• Key precursors include the TV-D1 test flight (October 2023), testing high-altitude crew escape separation.
• Vyommitra, an indigenous female half-humanoid robot, is designed to fly aboard uncrewed test missions to monitor environmental parameters.

Specialized Earth Observation and Joint Missions

NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar)

• A joint Earth-observation mission between ISRO and NASA.
• Employs dual-frequency radar: L-band radar developed by NASA and S-band radar developed by ISRO.
• Uses SweepSAR technology to map global land and ice surfaces every 12 days, tracking ecosystem changes, ice-sheet collapses, and natural hazards.

Navigation and Communication Constellations

• NavIC (IRNSS): An independent regional satellite navigation system covering India and a region extending 1,500 km around its mainland with a 7-satellite constellation.
• GAGAN: A Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) developed jointly by ISRO and the Airports Authority of India for civil aviation navigation over Indian airspace.

Key Facts

• August 23 is designated as National Space Day in India to commemorate the landing of Chandrayaan-3.
• Aryabhata was India’s first satellite, launched on April 19, 1975, using a Soviet Kosmos-3M launch vehicle from Kapustin Yar.
• SLV-3 was India’s first indigenous satellite launch vehicle, successfully placing the Rohini (RS-1) satellite into orbit in July 1980 under Project Director Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
• Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, is India’s primary spaceport; a second spaceport is located at Kulasekarapattinam, Tamil Nadu, for SSLV launches.
• The Master Control Facility (MCF) for tracking geostationary and interplanetary missions operates at Hassan in Karnataka and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
• ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), headquartered in Bengaluru, manages deep space network antennas at Byalalu.
• Antrix Corporation Limited and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) function as the commercial arms of the Department of Space.
• Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) operates as an autonomous single-window agency to promote and authorize private space sector activities in India.