ISRO to launch solar mission Aditya next month as Chandrayaan-3 explores moon

livemint.com:

As millions rejoice over the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, ISRO has announced plans for several new ventures. Chairman S Somanath confirmed on Thursday that a solar mission was currently in the works. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also alluded to future missions to the Sun and Venus during an address after the lander touched down on the moon.

“Mission 'Aditya' is in the works and will be ready for launch in the first week of September. We are also planning a mission by the end of September or October to demonstrate our crew module and crew escape capability, which will be followed by many test missions until we launch our first manned mission to space (Gaganyaan), possibly by 2025," he told ANI. India became the first Asian nation to put a craft into orbit around Mars in 2014 and is slated to launch a three-day crewed mission into Earth's orbit by next year.

It also plans a joint mission with Japan to send another probe to the Moon by 2025 and an orbital mission to Venus within the next two years. After a 40-day journey into space, the 'Vikram' lander had touched down on the lunar South Pole on Wednesday evening. Hours later, the 'Pragyaan' rover rolled out of the landing module to begin its exploration of the uncharted lunar south face.

The six-wheeled, solar-powered rover will now amble around the relatively unmapped region and transmit images and scientific data over its two-week lifespan. The ISRO chief told reporters that two instruments in the rover and three instruments on board the lander have been switched on sequentially after the landing. "They will study basically the mineral composition of the moon, as well as the atmosphere of the Moon and the seismic activities there," he explained.