India is setting its sights on the moon once more as it is aiming to launch the ambitious Chandrayaan-4 mission in 2028. This upcoming mission, led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), seeks to return samples from the moon’s south pole. The mission plans to retrieve 3 kilograms of lunar material from areas believed to hold water ice, with the goal of bringing these samples safely back to Earth. During a recent address in New Delhi, ISRO’s Chairman S. Somanath detailed this plan, highlighting its importance within India’s expanding space programme. The programme recently received increased government backing of Rs. 21 billion (around $250 million).

Two-Launch Strategy to Capture and Return Lunar Samples

The Chandrayaan-4 mission will involve a complex multi-stage approach to ensure the successful collection and return of lunar samples. The mission will require two separate launches aboard ISRO’s LVM-3 rockets. The first launch will carry a lunar lander and an ascender vehicle that will gather samples. The second launch will deploy a transfer module and a reentry vehicle that will remain in lunar orbit. After the samples are collected, the ascender will transfer them to the reentry module in lunar orbit, which will then return to Earth.

To prepare for the mission’s in-orbit docking requirements, ISRO will conduct a docking experiment, SPADEX, worth $14 million, to test this technique in a real-world environment. This experiment, set for late 2024 or early 2025, aims to refine skills critical for the mission’s success.

Expanding Partnerships and Future Lunar Ambitions

India’s collaboration with Japan will also play a key role in its lunar exploration plans. Following Chandrayaan-4, ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will work together on Chandrayaan-5, also known as the Lunar Polar Exploration Project (LUPEX). JAXA will contribute a 350-kilogram rover for this mission, a significant step up from the Pragyan rover used on Chandrayaan-3.

The Chandrayaan series of missions represents India’s drive to establish a human presence on the moon by 2040 and explore long-term options for a lunar base by 2050. Somanath and ISRO remain committed to reaching these ambitious milestones, seeing them as essential steps towards India’s vision of space leadership. India plans to launch Chandrayaan-4 in 2028 to collect moon samples!

NASA’s asteroid-hunting spacecraft, NEOWISE, has officially concluded its journey, meeting its end as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up on 1 November. Over its 15-year lifespan, NEOWISE catalogued nearly 3,000 near-Earth objects, including numerous asteroids, providing critical data for researchers studying potential planetary threats. The space agency confirmed NEOWISE’s re-entry on social media the following day, marking the end of a mission that significantly advanced NASA’s understanding of near-Earth space.

A Two-Phase Mission Evolution

NASA has confirmed that NEOWISE has entered the Earth’s atmosphere after spending 15 yeaers in space. The spacecraft was initially launched as WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) to observe the universe in infrared light. During the first phase, WISE captured some of the universe’s most luminous galaxies, hidden black holes and the coolest stars. However, in 2011, the spacecraft’s coolant reserves depleted, putting it into hibernation. In 2013, NASA reactivated WISE, repurposing it as NEOWISE to focus on tracking near-Earth objects—a critical step toward planetary defence.

Amy Mainzer, who led the NEOWISE project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), noted that its ability to detect asteroids was initially unexpected, saying in 2019 that it turned out to be exceptionally effective at identifying near-Earth objects. NEOWISE eventually collected vast amounts of data, which Joseph Hunt, its last project manager at JPL, stated would continue to benefit the scientific community for years.

Atmospheric Drag and the End of NEOWISE

The spacecraft’s demise was largely due to the solar maximum, the peak of the Sun’s 11-year cycle, which led to increased solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These solar events warmed and expanded Earth’s atmosphere, creating drag that gradually drew NEOWISE closer to Earth. Without propulsion capabilities, the spacecraft was unable to boost its orbit, ultimately leading to its atmospheric re-entry.

Next Steps in Near-Earth Object Detection

Although NEOWISE is now out of operation, NASA’s efforts to detect asteroids remain active. The NEO Surveyor, a successor mission specifically designed to identify near-Earth objects in infrared light, is slated for a late 2027 launch. Expected to bolster planetary defence strategies, the NEO Surveyor will be NASA’s first telescope dedicated to this critical task, carrying forward NEOWISE’s legacy in protecting Earth from potential space threats