ISRO's 'Chandrayaan 3' mission has been successful. In 2021, ISRO's former chief K Sivan had announced that after 'Mission Moon', their focus would be on 'Mangalyaan-2'. Now a major update has emerged. The organisation's chairman Dr. V Narayanan announced on Wednesday that this 'Mangalyaan-2' mission could begin in 2030. India had walked the path to fulfil the dream of its first Mars mission in 2013. On November 5 that year, ISRO managed to place India's spacecraft in Mars orbit on the first attempt itself. In 2022, the spacecraft could no longer be kept active due to the depletion of propellant or fuel in the 'Mars Orbiter Mission' or 'MOM'. However, during its active period, India has been able to gather multiple pieces of key information about Mars for the duration of over more than seven years.
India is keen to take the 'Mangalyaan-2' mission one step further than the past. 'Mangalyaan-1' was only an orbit-centric space mission. But 'Mangalyaan-2' will also have a lander. There is also a possibility of having a small rover. In other words, landing this spacecraft on the planet's surface is one of ISRO's main objectives, according to sources.
Design work for this mission has already begun at ISRO's 'Space Application Centre' and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. If 'Mangalyaan-2' is successful, then India will write its name on the same list alongside America, China and the Soviet Union.
