The European Space Agency (ESA) is assisting the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in its upcoming lunar and solar research missions. The Aditya-L1 mission, which studies the sun, and Chandrayaan-3, which studies the lunar surface at the moon’s south pole, are two examples.
Last year, the two organizations agreed to provide each other with technical assistance, including tracking and communications services for upcoming ISRO space missions via ESA ground stations. ESA stated that its assistance for both missions would begin with the key launch and early orbit phases and will continue through the completion of both missions, if required by ISRO. The Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota Range (SDSC SHAR) in India will launch both missions in 2022.
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While ISRO’s pipeline this year includes three major missions: Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan-3 and the Aditya L-1 solar mission, the latter two will test ESA’s promise first.
Will #Chandrayaan3 † #AdityaL1 actually be launched this year? @esa gives directions. Says its deep-space communications antennas will provide essential support to: @isro Moon & Sun Missions — the #Chandrayaan3 and #Aditya† 1/n
photo: @esa pic.twitter.com/iMkpxaYKOj
— Chethan Kumar (@Chethan_Dash) March 30, 2022
#ESA(European Space Agency) agrees to provide ground support to: #ISRO (Indian space research organization), ESA is ready to use its global deep space antennas to accurately track Indian spacecraft at any critical stage. when sending jobs and getting valuable data. pic.twitter.com/09gHU3aGan
— Keshor Virat (@ViratKeshor) March 30, 2022
“ESA station support for both Aditya L1 and Chandrayaan-3 will begin with the critical launch and early Earth orbit and will continue through the end of both missions, if required by Isro.” 10/n
— Chethan Kumar (@Chethan_Dash) March 30, 2022
@isro and @esa signed an agreement to provide each other with technical support, including tracking and communication services for upcoming Indian space missions via ESA’s ground stations in June 2021. 3/n
— Chethan Kumar (@Chethan_Dash) March 30, 2022
Reportedly, India’s first peaceful landing on that celestial body will be achieved by the Chandrayaan-3, which will be launched in August this year. As part of this mission, ISRO would send a lander and rover to survey the moon’s south pole for two weeks.
“Deepspace communications are an essential aspect of any space mission,” said Ramesh Chellathurai, ESA Service Manager and Liaison Officer for ISRO.
“As spacecraft move into the unknowable and the perils of space, base stations keep them securely tethered to Earth. It’s hard to get data from a spacecraft, to understand how it’s doing, to know if it’s safe, or even to know where it is without help from the ground station,” he added.
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The Aditya-L1 project, in which ISRO will launch a spacecraft with the first Lagrange point, about 15 lakh kilometers from Earth, would also benefit from the scheme. The spacecraft will be sent into space to investigate a variety of solar features, including the dynamics and origins of coronal mass emissions.
Underlining the need for a global network of antennas for this mission, Chellathurai said, “The (Aditya) spacecraft will always point in the same direction as the sun when viewed from Earth.”
“As the Earth rotates, no ground station will always be able to see Aditya-L1. The ideal approach to communicate commands and data with this spacecraft as often as possible is to use a global station network like ESA’s,” he added.
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