Exploring New Frontiers: ISRO's Future Deep Space Manifest

Having successfully conquered Earth's orbit, the Moon, and Mars, the Indian Space Research Organisation has set its sights on deeper space exploration targets, including Venus and sample-return missions.

1. Shukrayaan-1: Journey to Venus

Shukrayaan-1 is India's proposed Venusian atmospheric orbiter.

• Atmospheric Radar: Designed to pierce through the thick, toxic sulfuric acid cloud cover of Venus using Synthetic Aperture Radar.
• Objective: Mapping Venusian volcanoes, geological activities, and seeking to solve why Venus evolved from a potentially Earth-like environment into a scorching hellscape.

2. Chandrayaan-4: Bringing Lunar Dust Home

Unlike prior lunar missions, Chandrayaan-4 will be a highly complex, multi-vehicle sample-return mission.

• Mechanism: It will involve launching a lander, gathering lunar polar soil samples, transferring them into an ascent vehicle, docking with an orbiter in lunar space, and returning the capsule safely back to Earth.

3. LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration)

A joint polar rover mission planned between ISRO and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). Japan will provide the launch vehicle and the advanced rover, while ISRO will provide the high-tech landing system.