Chandrayaan-3 is expected to be released in early 2021 instead of in the second half of 2020 as the government suggests. Union Minister Jitendra Singh declared on Sunday, adding that India's Moon mission would include a rover and a lander but not an orbiter like its predecessor.
Following Chandrayaan-2's a hard landing in September of last year, the Indian Space Research Organization ( ISRO) had announced its plans to launch another moon mission by the end of the year 2020. But the novel coronavirus pandemic has led to a delay in Chandrayaan-3 's launch.
Chandrayaan-2 was launched on 22 July 2019, targeted at the Moon's the South Pole. The Vikram hard-landed on September 7, on the lunar surface. Officials have verified that the orbiter is in working order despite the setback, and is capable of transmitting data back to earth.
Jitendra Singh, State Minister (MoS) for Space Department said Chandrayaan-1, the ISRO 's maiden mission to the Moon, transmitted images suggesting that Moon could rust along the poles.
At the same time, India is also planning for its first-ever Gaganyaan Human Space flight, for which training processes and other procedures are currently in progress.
In an interview Minister Jitendra Singh said, "Because of COVID pandemic led to some disruptions in the plan for Gaganyaan but efforts are going on to stick to the timeline of around 2022."
