India’s nuclear sector will power future space missions, says Isro chief

Mumbai: India’s nuclear sector is set to fuel and power future space missions of the country, Isro chairman S Somanath said at Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay’s Techfest on Thursday. He said the space agency will also go for nuclear propulsion in collaboration with the department of atomic energy. Stating that two radioisotope heating units that were included in the propulsion module of Chandrayaan-3 on a trial basis worked flawlessly, Somanath said the atomic energy department was enthusiastic about the project. His statement assumes significance with global space agencies entering the nuclear power sector. He said the first phase of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station will be ready by 2028, while the entire facility will be completed in 2035. “It will be an international platform for collaborative research,” he said, adding that the space station will be a gateway for interplanetary missions, microgravity studies, space biology, medicine and research. Speaking on other projects, Somanath said Isro is working on an Integrated Lunar Exploration Roadmap, which, among other things, envisages setting up a moonbase habitat at a lower cost, compared to other nations. The lunar roadmap also includes a lunar sample return mission.Further, Isro is set to launch Xposat mission on new year’s day to study Black Holes and neutron stars. This will mark the 60th mission of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. This will also be the first dedicated polarimetry mission in India and second globally, after Nasa’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer Mission launched in July 2021. Five days later, India’s first mission to the Sun, Aditya-L1, is set to reach its destination—Lagrange point 1—at 4pm on January 6. The Lagrange point is 1.5 million km away from earth.Isro is also planning a satellite exclusively for G20 nations to study air pollution, green house gases and humidity conditions, he said. Fifty satellites with strategic applications are being planned for monitoring our borders, studying possible changes in troop movements, many of which will use artificial intelligence, he added. Speaking about future Indian rockets, Somanath said they are planning ones that will be reusable as well as those to be used for space tourism.