India to launch Chandrayaan-3 in November 2020: ISRO chief K Sivan
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This comes after India's ambitious mission Chandrayaan-2 - to land on the far side of the moon - could not get through last year.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan on Wednesday started the New Year with good news, stating that India's new lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 will be launched later this year in November 2020.
In pics: A look at the past moon expeditions
This comes after India's ambitious mission Chandrayaan-2, to land on the far side of the moon, could not get through last year as Vikram Lander could not succeed.
The new mission will be launched to strengthen legs of the lander and will only include the lander and the rover.
The #Chandrayaan2 Vikram lander has been found by our @NASAMoon mission, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. See the first mosaic of the impact site https://t.co/GA3JspCNuh pic.twitter.com/jaW5a63sAf
— NASA (@NASA) December 2, 2019
"The government has approved Chandrayan-3, the project is ongoing," Sivan said at a press conference today.
"The land acquisition for a second space port has been initiated and the port will be in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu," he said.
Sivan added that the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is still functioning well and will function for the next 7 years to produce scientific data.
"We have made good progress on Chandrayan-2, even though we could not land successfully, the orbiter is still functioning, it's going to function for the next 7 years to produce science data," he told media.
Sivan described 2020 as a big year - the year of Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan.
(With inputs from ANI)