ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) has a full schedule for the year 2023.

It has been making several breakthroughs in space technology and has missions planned for the decade and even beyond.

The country has already launched about 381 satellites for different nations, including the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and others, through the years.

ISRO managed to put India’s first privately made rocket to the test in the year 2022 and 2023 is sure to be a year of greater milestones for the space agency.  

Here’s a list of missions announced by ISRO for 2023

Gaganyaan – 3 

Gaganyaan-3, ISRO’s first manned mission to space, is supposed to be launched by mid-2023. Two unmanned test flights, Gaganyaan 1 & Gaganyaan 2, will be sent prior to launching this three-manned satellite. 

The objective of the mission is to demonstrate the capabilities of undertaking human space flight missions on Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

You might ask what is the difference between unmanned and manned spacecraft?

The main difference between a manned spacecraft and an unmanned spacecraft is that a manned one has a closed space suitable for people to live and work whereas an unmanned one doesn’t.

Aditya – L1 

Aditya – L1  is India’s first mission for solar observation is to be launched in March 2023. The satellite will be placed to study the solar corona with the help of a solar chronograph. Once successful ISRO would have the ability to predict solar storms and study the Solar Weather System. 

Here’s more about it

Chandrayaan-3 

Chandrayaan-3 is the successor of Chandrayaan-2 (which failed due to a last-minute glitch in soft landing guidance). It successfully launched on July 14th 2023.

The lunar (moon) exploration mission is to be launched at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Andhra Pradesh, with Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM) rocket. 

Chandrayaan-3 will make India the fourth country in the world to successfully soft-land on the moon. 

X-ray Polarimeter Satellite 

‘XPoSat’ is planned to be launched in the second quarter of 2023 on a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV). It is a space observatory (a device used for observing distant heavenly bodies like stars, and planets) that will study approximately 50 brightest sources in the universe like the pulsars, active galactic nuclei, black hole X-ray binaries, and non-thermal supernova remnants.

NISAR

‘NISAR’, is a joint project between ISRO and NASA. The mission is to launch a first-of-its-kind dual-frequency SAR on an Earth observation satellite. The satellite is expected to launch by January 2024.

The satellite will be used to understand the natural processes of the Earth like the Arctic and Antarctic cryosphere(The cryosphere is the frozen water part of the Earth system).

It will be launched from India and the planned mission life is three years. 

Mangalyaan – 2 

Mangalyaan 2 is ISRO’s second mission to launch to Mars. The mission is expected to be launched in 2025  with a duration of around one year. ISRO has also proposed the launch of MOM-3 in 2030.

Shukrayaan – 1 

Shukrayaan-1 is a planned orbiter to Venus. The objective of the mission is to study the atmosphere and surface of the planet. The mission is planned to be launched in the month of December 2024. 

AstroSat – 2 

As a successor to AstroSat-1, AstroSat-2 is India’s second multi-wavelength space telescope and is expected to further the study of astrophysics and astronomy. The key functions of these satellites include studying neutron stars (massive star that runs out of fuel and collapses), black holes, and binary star systems(A binary star system exists when two stars move around a common center ).

Lunar Polar Exploration Mission 

LUPEX, Lunar Polar Exploration Mission also known as Chandrayaan-4, is a lunar robotic mission. The mission is a collaboration of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and ISRO. The objective is to explore the south pole of the moon by the year 2025. ISRO will be building the lander whereas JAXA is providing the H3 launch vehicle and the rover.

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