Upcoming Missions and Space Telescopes
Space organisations are preparing a new generation of missions - human spaceflight, planetary probes and powerful telescopes that observe the universe from above the Earth's atmosphere. Examinations ask this topic through Gaganyaan and Shukrayaan, other upcoming Indian missions, and the major space telescopes and their locations. The facts are mostly records and names, so a simple table of missions and telescopes with their aims makes the topic easy to revise.
Gaganyaan: India's human spaceflight
Gaganyaan is ISRO's programme to send Indian astronauts into space, making India the fourth country to do so on its own. Under the mission, a crew of three astronauts is planned to be sent into a low Earth orbit of about 400 kilometres for about three days. The launch vehicle is the human-rated LVM3 (HLVM3). Before the crewed flight, ISRO will conduct uncrewed test missions, and a half-humanoid robot named Vyommitra is designed to fly on these test flights. The TV-D1 test of the crew escape system was successfully carried out in October 2023. Gaganyaan is seen as a major step towards an Indian space station.
Shukrayaan and other upcoming Indian missions
Shukrayaan-1 is ISRO's planned mission to Venus, which will study the planet's thick atmosphere, surface and geology from orbit. Other upcoming Indian missions include Chandrayaan-4, a mission to bring back samples from the Moon, and Chandrayaan-5, also called LUPEX, a joint lunar polar exploration mission with JAXA of Japan. India is also working on a second Mars mission and on NISAR, a joint NASA-ISRO radar satellite for Earth observation. These missions continue India's record of exploring the Moon, Mars, the Sun and now Venus.
Major space telescopes
A space telescope observes the universe from above the atmosphere, which blocks many wavelengths and blurs images. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990 by NASA and ESA, observes in visible and ultraviolet light from low Earth orbit. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched in December 2021, is the largest and most powerful space telescope; it observes in the infrared and is placed at the Lagrange point L2, about 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth. Other important telescopes are Chandra for X-rays, Fermi for gamma rays, Spitzer for infrared, Kepler and TESS for finding exoplanets, and the ESA missions Gaia and Euclid. India's astronomy satellites are AstroSat (2015), XPoSat (2024) and the solar observatory Aditya-L1.
Lagrange points and the Artemis programme
Lagrange points are positions where the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Earth balance the orbital motion of a spacecraft, so it can stay in place with little fuel. There are five points, and L1 and L2 are especially useful. L1, about 1.5 million kilometres towards the Sun, is good for studying the Sun, which is why Aditya-L1 is placed there. L2, on the opposite side, is ideal for space telescopes such as JWST, because a single sunshield can block the sunlight and keep the instruments very cold. NASA's Artemis programme aims to return humans to the Moon, with Artemis II as a crewed flyby and Artemis III planned to land astronauts near the lunar south pole, including the first woman and the next man.
Quick revision
Remember that Gaganyaan is India's first human spaceflight mission, planned to carry three astronauts to a low Earth orbit of about 400 kilometres for about three days using the human-rated LVM3, with the robot Vyommitra on uncrewed test flights. Shukrayaan-1 is India's planned mission to Venus. Hubble (1990) observes visible and ultraviolet light, while JWST (2021) is the largest telescope, observes infrared and sits at L2. Aditya-L1 studies the Sun from L1. NASA's Artemis programme aims to return humans to the Moon near the south pole.
How to prepare this topic
- Learn the key points of Gaganyaan: three astronauts, about 400 kilometres orbit, about three days, LVM3 launch vehicle and the Vyommitra robot.
- Link each upcoming mission to its target: Shukrayaan to Venus, Chandrayaan-4 to lunar samples and Chandrayaan-5 or LUPEX to a joint mission with Japan.
- Make a table of space telescopes with their year, wavelength and location, especially Hubble, JWST, Chandra and Aditya-L1.
- Understand the difference between L1 (good for studying the Sun) and L2 (good for telescopes) Lagrange points.
- Remember the aim of NASA's Artemis programme and that it plans to land near the lunar south pole.
Common exam traps
- Gaganyaan is a human spaceflight programme, not a lunar or planetary mission.
- Shukrayaan is a mission to Venus, not to Mars or the Moon; Mangalyaan was the Mars mission.
- JWST is at the L2 point, while Aditya-L1 is at the L1 point; do not interchange them.
- Hubble observes mainly in visible and ultraviolet light, while JWST works in the infrared.
- The robot to fly on Gaganyaan's uncrewed test flights is Vyommitra, and the launch vehicle is the human-rated LVM3.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Gaganyaan mission and what are its main features?
Gaganyaan is ISRO's first human spaceflight programme, designed to send a crew of three astronauts into a low Earth orbit of about 400 kilometres for about three days using the human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle. Uncrewed test flights will come first, and the half-humanoid robot Vyommitra is designed to fly on them. The TV-D1 crew escape system test was carried out in October 2023.
What is Shukrayaan-1?
Shukrayaan-1 is ISRO's planned mission to Venus. It will study the planet's thick atmosphere, surface and geology from orbit. Other upcoming Indian missions include Chandrayaan-4 for returning lunar samples and Chandrayaan-5 or LUPEX, a joint lunar polar exploration mission with JAXA of Japan.
Which are the major space telescopes and where are they placed?
The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, observes visible and ultraviolet light from low Earth orbit. The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in December 2021, is the largest space telescope, observes in the infrared and is placed at the Lagrange point L2 about 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth. Other telescopes include Chandra for X-rays, Fermi for gamma rays and Kepler and TESS for exoplanets.
What are Lagrange points and why are L1 and L2 used?
Lagrange points are positions where the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Earth balance a spacecraft's orbital motion, allowing it to stay in place with little fuel. L1, towards the Sun, is good for studying the Sun and hosts Aditya-L1. L2, on the opposite side, is ideal for space telescopes such as JWST, because a sunshield can block sunlight and keep the instruments cold.
What is NASA's Artemis programme?
Artemis is NASA's programme to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there. Artemis II is planned as a crewed flyby of the Moon and Artemis III is planned to land astronauts near the lunar south pole, including the first woman and the next man. It follows the Apollo missions, which last landed humans on the Moon in 1972.