The spacecraft carrying the Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander returned to Earth orbit, demonstrating the technology supporting India’s upcoming lunar sample return mission. India’s space agency ISRO announced on December 4 that the thruster module of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is now in high Earth orbit following a series of maneuvers since October that brought the spacecraft back from low lunar orbit. Earlier, ISRO had stated that it had not made any attempt to return the thrust module to Earth orbit.

The main purpose of the 2,145-kilogram power module was to move the Chandrayaan-3 lander from its initial elliptical orbit around the Earth to low orbit of the Moon. The module, a modified version of ISRO’s I-3K satellite bus, performed various maneuvers to raise orbital apogee starting the day after launch on July 14, followed by translunar insertion and launch into lunar orbit. The module was then moved into a circular orbit approximately 150 kilometers above the moon before the lander departed on August 17.

The lander successfully landed on the Moon on August 23. The rover remained in orbit and operated a single instrument called Spectro-Polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth, or SHAPE, to observe Earth. ISRO has released little information about the propulsion module after the lander separated.

ISRO said in a statement that it decided to attempt to return the thrust module to Earth orbit after determining that launch precision and preliminary maneuvers had left the spacecraft with more than 100 kilograms of fuel. The first maneuver in this plan was carried out on October 9, when apolune, the highest point of the orbit around the moon, was increased from 150 kilometers to 5,112 kilometers.

On October 13, the module performed an Earth-transcending maneuver, placing it in an orbit where it would approach the Moon four times before departing the area of ​​influence on November 10. The spacecraft entered a high orbit around the Earth and made its first landmark at an altitude of 154,000 kilometers on November 22.

ISRO said the maneuver allowed SHAPE to continue its observations closer to Earth. It also added that the maneuvers were designed “to obtain additional information for future lunar missions and to demonstrate the mission operations strategy for the sample return mission.”

ISRO has not officially announced plans for the mission to return samples to the Moon. The next mission to the Moon is the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission, or LUPEX, a joint effort with Japan’s JAXA space agency. This mission, sometimes called Chandrayaan-4, will involve a Japanese rover landing in India to explore the Moon’s south polar region. It is expected to be released before 2026.

However, ISRO officials discussed the potential of a short-term sample return mission. “The Indian government has given us a very tight schedule for space exploration. We should have a sample from the Moon in about four years,” said Sri M. Sankaran, director of ISRO’s UR Rao Satellite Centre, during a panel discussion at AIAA’s ASCEND conference in Las Vegas on October 24.

He was apparently referring to the ISRO management meeting chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 17. A statement from the Prime Minister’s office mentioned targets that included an Indian space station by 2035 and an Indian crew to land on the moon by 2040, but this did not materialise. Discuss the return on the monthly sample.

In a presentation made later at the conference, he said ISRO had developed a concept for a mock return mission but did not go into detail. “Maybe this sample return and the JAXA and LUPEX mission could happen at about the same time,” he said.

The thrust module’s return to Earth orbit was not the first demonstration of the technology required to send lunar samples to Chandrayaan-3. During its final days on the lunar surface in September, the lander restarted its engines and climbed about 40 centimeters above the surface before descending 30 to 40 centimeters from its original landing site. “This start is exciting for future sample returns and manned missions!” ISRO shared it on social media. Source