How ISRO plans to explore the dark side of Moon
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to explore the dark side or the permanently shadowed regions of the Moon via its Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission. The space agency has collaborated with Japan for the upcoming lunar expedition which appears to be picking up pace of late. ISRO is also gearing up for Chandrayaan-3, which is expected to lift-off in June.
Why does this story matter?
Talking about the dark side of the Moon, or the far side, it refers to the side that faces away from the Earth. China made history when its Chang'e-4 mission touched down on the far side of the Moon in 2019. With the upcoming lunar exploration mission, ISRO is keen to investigate the lesser-known side of the Moon.
What is the LUPEX mission about?
The prime goal of the LUPEX mission will be to confirm the presence of water in the polar regions of the Moon. The spacecraft will ferry several scientific instruments from both ISRO and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The mission will comprise a rover and lander. The lander system will be developed by ISRO and the rover will be built by JAXA.
The mission will launch atop a Japanese rocket
The LUPEX mission will be launched atop a Japanese rocket. It is planned to land on the Moon's south pole. However, the mission has a long way to go before it could be launched. According to recent developments, the launch will take a few years.
A team from JAXA came over to discuss LUPEX mission
Recently, a team from JAXA came over to India to meet with ISRO scientists to discuss the LUPEX mission. Taking to Twitter, JAXA revealed it was the"first face-to-face LUPEX working group meeting since 2019." The discussions involved sharing the results of the landing site analysis to ascertain which site on the Moon served as a "promising candidate."
The future coordination policy was confirmed during the meeting
The status of ISRO's instruments on the rover was discussed and the future coordination policy was confirmed, per the tweet. The meeting also involved sharing information on antennas on the ground that send and receive commands and telemetry. There was also an exchange of ideas with respect to the methods for estimating where landers and rovers are on the Moon.
"India-Japan space cooperation is currently focusing on lunar exploration"
In its annual report 2022-23, regarding the LUPEX mission, ISRO stated that "India-Japan space cooperation is currently focusing on lunar exploration, satellite navigation, and earth observation." The report further mentioned that "ISRO and JAXA are specifically working on completing the phase-A study of the joint Lunar polar exploration mission; finalizing the instruments to be accommodated in lander and rover."
