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Difficulty: MediumScience, Emerging Technology, and Space Missions in News

With reference to India's space exploration initiatives in news, consider the following statements regarding the Chandrayaan-4 mission:

1. Its primary objective is to collect lunar soil and rock samples and safely return them to Earth.
2. It utilizes a single-launch configuration deployed using ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
3. It requires autonomous space docking and undocking operations of multiple spacecraft modules in orbit.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A
    1 and 2 only
  2. 1 and 3 onlyAnswer
  3. C
    2 and 3 only
  4. D
    1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 3 only
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Chandrayaan-4 is designed as India's lunar sample return mission aimed at landing on the Moon, harvesting samples, and safely bringing them back to Earth. To handle the complex sequence of landing, ascending, and returning, the spacecraft consists of multiple modules (Ascender, Descender, Propulsion, Transfer, and Re-entry modules). Because of the combined mass, ISRO planned a dual-launch strategy using two LVM3 rockets, making autonomous docking and undocking of these modules in orbit a key operational requirement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate Statement 1 regarding mission purpose
Chandrayaan-4 is designated as India's lunar sample return mission to harvest lunar regolith and return it to Earth.
This forms the foundational scientific and technological objective approved for the mission.
2
Evaluate Statement 2 regarding launch vehicle and architecture
Chandrayaan-4 uses two separate launches of ISRO's heavy-lift LVM3 launch vehicle due to total payload mass constraints.
The PSLV lacks the payload capacity to deliver a multi-module sample return system directly into lunar trajectory.
3
Evaluate Statement 3 regarding orbital operations
Because the mission stack is launched in two parts, autonomous docking and undocking in lunar orbit are critical mission capabilities.
The transfer module, ascender module, descender module, and re-entry capsule must interface in space to execute the return journey.

Key Concept

Chandrayaan-4 Lunar Sample Return Mission Architecture
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Science, Emerging Technology, and Space Missions in News

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