Master10
Space & Astronomy Module

ISRO Missions & Indian Space Program

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), founded on August 15, 1969 by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, has established India as a premier spacefaring nation. On August 23, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 achieved a historic soft landing near the lunar south pole with the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, leading the Government of India to designate August 23 as National Space Day. Other landmark scientific missions include Chandrayaan-1 (which confirmed lunar water molecules in 2008), the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan, 2013), and Aditya-L1, launched in September 2023 to observe the Sun from the Sun-Earth Lagrangian Point 1. ISRO relies on proven launch vehicles including the PSLV, LVM3, and SSLV.

Key Concepts & Examination Highlights

  • Chandrayaan-3 achieved a successful soft landing near the lunar south pole on August 23, 2023, making India the fourth nation to land on the Moon.
  • Aditya-L1 was placed into a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrangian Point 1 (L1), approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established on August 15, 1969, succeeding the INCOSPAR committee formed by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
  • Aryabhata, launched on 19 April 1975 using a Soviet Kosmos-3M launch vehicle, was India's first indigenous artificial satellite.
  • Chandrayaan-1, launched in October 2008 aboard PSLV-C11, confirmed the presence of water molecules (H2OH_2O and OHOH) on the lunar surface using the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3).
  • Aditya-L1, launched in September 2023, is India's first dedicated solar observatory spacecraft placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1).
  • The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), known as ISRO's workhorse, features a four-stage propulsion configuration alternating between solid and liquid stages.
  • The Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3 / GSLV Mk III) is ISRO's heaviest operational launch vehicle, capable of placing up to 4,000 kg into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) and 8,000 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
  • Gaganyaan is India's flagship human spaceflight mission aiming to demonstrate indigenous crewed orbital capability by sending human astronauts (Gaganyatris) to a 400 km LEO.
  • Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, serves as India's primary spaceport for orbital rocket launches.
  • IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center) and NSIL (NewSpace India Limited) were established to facilitate commercial participation of private space-tech startups and industry in the Indian space sector.
  • Dr. Vikram Sarabhai is revered as the Father of the Indian Space Program, and the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad was established by him in 1947 as a cradle for space sciences.
  • India launched its first sounding rocket, a Nike-Apache supplied by NASA, from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) near Thiruvananthapuram on November 21, 1963.
  • The Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3), spearheaded by Project Director Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, successfully placed the Rohini RS-1 satellite into orbit on July 18, 1980.
  • The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as Mangalyaan, was launched aboard PSLV-C25 on November 5, 2013, making India the first nation to successfully reach Martian orbit on its maiden attempt in September 2014.
  • The Chandrayaan-3 lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan) carried scientific payloads including ChaSTE (thermal probe), ILSA (seismometer), APXS, and LIBS to analyze in-situ lunar regolith composition.
  • The lunar south pole landing site of Chandrayaan-3 was officially named 'Shiv Shakti Point', while the Chandrayaan-2 impact crash site was named 'Tiranga Point' by the Government of India.
  • National Space Day is celebrated across India annually on August 23 to commemorate the historic soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar south pole.
  • The Indian Cryogenic Engine CE-20, developed by ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), powers the upper cryogenic stage (C25) of the LVM3 launch vehicle using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
  • The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) is ISRO's three-stage all-solid launch vehicle designed to inject mini, micro, and nano satellites up to 500 kg into low Earth orbits on short turnaround times.
  • The Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV-LEX), named 'Pushpak', successfully demonstrated autonomous runway landing capabilities at Challakere in Karnataka.
  • XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite), launched in January 2024, is India's dedicated scientific mission to study the polarization of intense astronomical X-ray sources like pulsars and black holes.
  • NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a joint Earth-observing satellite mission utilizing dual L-band and S-band radar frequencies to track global environmental and crustal changes.
  • Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) in Dehradun and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) in Hyderabad process and distribute geospatial satellite data for agriculture, forestry, and disaster management.
  • The Master Control Facility (MCF) of ISRO, situated at Hassan in Karnataka and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, monitors and controls geostationary and geosynchronous satellites throughout their operational lifetimes.
  • The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was set up in 1962 by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) under Dr. Homi Bhabha and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
  • The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is ISRO's lead center for the design and development of launch vehicle technology.
  • The U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, is the lead center for building, integrating, and testing all Indian communication and scientific satellites.
  • The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiyamala (Thiruvananthapuram) and Bengaluru develops liquid and cryogenic rocket engines and propulsion stages.
  • The Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, designs and develops optical, infrared, and microwave communication and Earth observation payloads.
  • The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) in Shadnagar near Hyderabad operates the satellite data acquisition ground station and aerial remote sensing services.
  • The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad conducts advanced research in planetary sciences, space physics, solar astronomy, and theoretical astrophysics.
  • The Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu near Bengaluru operates 18-meter and 32-meter dish antennas for tracking and communicating with deep-space probes like Chandrayaan and Aditya-L1.
  • The Satellite Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru provides telemetry and tracking support for ISRO's launch vehicles and near-Earth satellites.
  • The Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) was a five-stage all-solid launch vehicle operated in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a technology demonstrator.
  • The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk II (GSLV Mk II) is a three-stage launch vehicle featuring an indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) capable of placing 2,500 kg in GTO.
  • The L110 stage in the LVM3 launch vehicle is powered by two Vikas liquid rocket engines burning unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4N_2O_4).
  • The S200 solid rocket booster used on the LVM3 is one of the world's largest solid propellant rocket boosters, carrying 200 tonnes of HTPB-based solid propellant.
  • The Vikas engine, developed under the leadership of Nambi Narayanan in the 1970s, is an indigenous liquid rocket engine derived from the European Viking engine technology.
  • Chandrayaan-2, launched in July 2019 aboard GSLV Mk III-M1, placed an orbiter in lunar orbit with eight high-resolution instruments that continue to map lunar mineralogy.
  • The Indian Space Station, Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS-1), will be launched into a 400-kilometer Low Earth Orbit aboard the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV).
  • The Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), codenamed 'Soorya', is being developed by ISRO as a cost-effective, semi-cryogenic methane-fueled heavy launcher with reusable first stages.
  • The Semi-Cryogenic Engine SCE-200, under development at LPSC, burns refined kerosene (Isrosene) and liquid oxygen (LOX) to deliver 2,000 kN of thrust for future heavy rockets.
  • Vyommitra is a female-looking humanoid robot developed by ISRO to fly aboard uncrewed Gaganyaan test missions to monitor module parameters and life support systems.
  • The Pad Abort Test (PAT) and Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) successfully validated the Crew Escape System (CES) for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission.
  • AstroSat completed over eight years of continuous operation, discovering extreme ultraviolet radiation from a galaxy located 9.3 billion light-years away (AUDFs01).
  • The GSAT satellite series (such as GSAT-24 and GSAT-7A) provides high-throughput Ku-band and Ka-band transponders for civilian broadcasting and defense communications.
  • GSAT-7 (Rukmini) and GSAT-7A (Angry Bird) are dedicated military communications satellites operated by the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force respectively.
  • RISAT-2BR1 and EOS-04 are indigenous Radar Imaging Satellites carrying X-band and C-band Synthetic Aperture Radars for all-weather day-and-night terrain surveillance.
  • The NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), incorporated in March 2019 as the commercial arm of the Department of Space, fully owns and operates commercial satellite launches.
Curriculum & Reference Sources: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Space, Government of India

Sample Solved Questions & Concept Explanations

8 Verified Concept Questions
Q1.EASY

What is the name of India's premier space agency headquartered in Bengaluru?

Q2.EASY

In which year did India's Chandrayaan-3 successfully land the Vikram lander on the Moon's lunar south pole region?

Q3.EASY

What is the primary launch vehicle of ISRO known as the 'Workhorse of ISRO' for launching satellites?

Q4.EASY

What was India's first Mars exploration mission, launched by ISRO in November 2013?

Q5.EASY

What was the name of India's first satellite, launched on 19 April 1975 using a Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket?

Q6.EASY

What is the primary launch site of ISRO situated on an island in the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh?

Q7.EASY

What is the name of India's dedicated solar observatory mission launched to the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point in 2023?

Q8.MEDIUM

India's heavy-lift launch vehicle LVM3 (formerly GSLV Mk III) uses which indigenous cryogenic upper stage engine?