The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, DrJitendra Singh along with Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Dr K Sivan addressed a press conference here today onupcoming space missions of ISRO, with a specific focus on Chandrayaan 2.

In his opening remarks, DrJitendra Singh lauded the commitment and hard work of scientific community and highlighted the benefits of usage of space technology in improving the lives of common people. He said that Chandrayaan-I was instrumental in identifying water on the moon. Dr Singh said that under the direction of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, applications of space technology in areas such as infrastructure, disaster management and security have eased lives of common people and improved the delivery of Government’s welfare programmes. India has emerged as a world leader in space technology application today, he added.

On the forthcoming Gaganyaan Mission, Dr Singh said that by the 75^th anniversary of Independence in 2022, India would be launching its first human space flight. He added that the Government has sanctioned Rs 10,000 crores for this Mission, which is being guided by the Gaganyaan National Advisory Councilthat has eminent scientists and persons as members.

Giving a presentation on the forthcoming Missions of ISRO, Dr Sivan gave details of Chandrayaan-2, Gaganyaan, Aditya L1 and a Mission to Venus.

Dr. Sivan said that the objectives of Chandrayaan-2 are:

1. To map the variations in lunar surface composition extensively in order to trace back the origin and evolution of the moon.
2. Focused studies on the extent of water molecule distributionon the surface, below the surface and in the tenuous lunar exosphere to address the origin of water on moon

The mission is planned to fly on a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) with an approximate lift-off mass of 3,877 kg (8,547 lb) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island. The launch is scheduled for 15 July 2019. He said that the controlled landing of rover on the lunar surface is the most challenging task.The mission will include 8 orbiter payloads, 3 Vikram Lander payloads and 2 Pragyaan Rover Payloads. Chandrayaan-2 represents a national effort with 500 industries and 15 institutions combining to achieve the desired objectives.

On Gaganyaan, Dr Sivan informed that ISRO has signed an MoU with Indian Air Force for selection and training of the crew. ISRO is also actively engaged in building capacity for India’s sustained human space flight programs, with the first manned flight scheduled in or before 2022. This will be the Gaganyaan mission, in which selected astronauts will spend 3-7 days in the Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) of 120-400 km.

The ISRO Chairman spoke about the solar mission Aditya L1, scheduled for launch in 2020. This would aim to study Sun’s Corona and its impact on climatic changes.

A mission to Venus has been planned for a tentative launch in 2023, with the objective to study the atmosphere and surface topography of Venus.

Dr Sivan said that ISRO is also planning to have its own Space station in the long term.

The briefing was followed by an interactive session with media.

Senior officers of Department of Space were also present on the occasion.

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