Chandrayaan III: India may attempt soft landing next November

Bengaluru : After unsuccessful bid two months ago, India may attempt another soft landing on the Moon by next year-end, probably in November, sources in ISRO said on Thursday.

The Indian Space Research Organisation had constituted a high-level committee, headed by S Somanath, Director of Thiruvanathapuram-based Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, the lead centre responsible for all launch vehicle programmes of ISRO, to prepare a report on the proposed Chandrayaan-3.

"The panel's report is awaited. The committee has been given a guideline to prepare the mission before the end of next year," a senior ISRO official told PTI. "There is a good launch window in November".

"Rover, lander and landing operations will get more focus this time and whatever deficiencies in the Chandrayaan-2 mission will be corrected," sources in the Bengaluru- headquartered space agency said.

On September 7, ISRO attempted a soft landing of Chandrayaan-2's 'Vikram' on the unchartered lunar south pole, before losing communication with the lander.

A national level committee consisting of academics and ISRO experts, headed by V Naraya­nan, Director of the space agency's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, has analysed the cause of communication loss with the lander.