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| Chandrayaan-1 Mission Profile [PHOTO: ISRO] |
New Delhi: India and Russia pursue joint programmes are in a few areas
of space research. Currently, the cooperation is pursued on realisation of
Chandrayaan-2 satellite for joint moon exploration.
Stating this in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Minister of
State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy said India and Russia were
collaborating "in a few areas of space research".
There is no transfer of space technology envisaged under
this agreement.
Indian Space Research organisation (ISRO) and Federal Space
Agency of Russia (ROSCOSMOS) have entered into a co-operative agreement in
November 2007, for carrying out joint moon exploration. This programme is
called Chandrayaan-2 and it will have the moon orbiter, lander and rover
module.
As per the agreement, India will be responsible for
developing a moon orbiter and rover module, whereas Russia will be responsible
for developing the moon lander module. Chandrayaan-2 will be launched using
ISRO’s Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.
For the Chandrayaan-2 programme, several rounds of
discussions and exchange of technical data have taken place between Indian and
Russian sides primarily to finalise on the various interfaces and mission
related operations.
In May 2012, ROSCOSMOS has indicated a major programmatic
change in Joint Moon Exploration. Currently the discussions are underway
between ISRO and ROSCOSMOS on the way forward.
As this is the first time India will be undertaking a moon
lander-rover mission, it is likely to provide insight into the development of
moon lander and its operations, in addition to generating tremendous amount of
data for the scientific community. The mission will also enthuse the younger
generation in taking up space science as their future career.