Navigating lunar traffic: How ISRO plans to ensure safe space exploration amidst orbital crowding?

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Moon and Mars. These regions, rich with planetary bodies, are the focus of numerous endeavors.

One such mission, Chandrayaan-3, undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has prompted a thorough analysis of lunar traffic patterns not just for the present but also for the years ahead.Chandrayaan-3 prepares for lunar landing: Managing moon's crowded orbit As Chandrayaan-3 readies itself for a lunar landing, ISRO has undertaken an extensive study of the orbital traffic encompassing the Moon. This investigation aims to address not only current challenges but also future considerations.

The preceding Chandrayaan-2 mission, between September 2019 and July 2019, conducted three collision avoidance maneuvers (CAMs) to avert potential collisions with other spacecraft. With Chandrayaan-3, ISRO will once again undertake the pivotal role of managing lunar traffic to ensure safe exploration.Current lunar orbital landscape: Active orbiters and their challenges In the lunar orbit, Chandrayaan-3 joins an assembly of six other active lunar orbiters.

This group includes four from NASA, notably the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), along with one each from India (Chandrayaan-2 orbiter) and Korea (Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter — KPLO). Despite their invaluable contributions, defunct spacecraft like Japan's Ouna and India's Chandrayaan-1, coupled with the repositioning or impact of other orbiters on the lunar surface, have further complicated the orbital environment.Mitigating risks and ensuring safe space operations around the Moon Even with a limited number of orbiting craft, frequent overlaps in the Low Lunar Orbit (LLO) of LRO, KPLO, and the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter have led to potential conjunctions.