Chandrayaan-3 : News and Updates

[Gautam]

Chandrayaan-3: Second bid to land on Moon by November 2020​

BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), which failed to land a probe on Moon in its first attempt in September 2019 (Chandrayaan-2), has begun work on Chandrayaan-3 with a deadline of November 2020, sources said.​

Isro has formed multiple committees — an overall panel and three sub-committees — and held at least four high-level meetings since October. The new mission will include only a lander and rover, as the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is functioning well. On Tuesday, the overview committee met with the agenda of reviewing the configuration of Chandrayaan-3. It also looked into the recommendations of various sub-committees on propulsion, sensors, overall engineering, navigation and guidance.

Work is in full flow, said a scientist. So far Isro has looked at 10 specific aspects of the mission, including landing site selection, absolute navigation and local navigation. Sources quoted an office order issued on October 5 as having instructed: “It is essential to carry out detailed analysis on the changes for improving the lander system considering the recommendations of both the expert committee (formed to look into Chandrayaan-2) and the recommendations which could not be implemented due to advanced stage of Chandrayaan-2 flight preparation.”

Another scientist said among the top priority for the new mission is “strengthening the legs of the lander”, so that it allows landing even with a high velocity. Sources said that Isro will be building a new lander and a rover. No final decision has been taken on the number of payloads on the lander.

A source said Isro teams are looking at having a detachable module that will carry fuel. “Tentatively called the propulsion module, it will help in taking the landing module — which will have the rover sitting inside the lander — to the lunar orbit,” the source said. In Chandrayaan-2, fuel carried on the orbiter was used for all the manoeuvres performed post launch and until the separation of the landing module. Here, the propulsion module will aid this process. Isro is also looking at reducing the number of manoeuvres around Earth and also during the transit to the lunar orbit. “Instead of six manoeuvres, we may have just three or four,” a source said.​

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...oon-by-november-2020/articleshow/72047390.cms​

So sh*t just got real. CY-3 will be a fully Indian project. Maybe the joint project with Japan will be called something else. November 2020, barely a year from now, wow !

 

[Golden_Rule]

Chandrayaan-3: Second bid to land on Moon by November 2020​

BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), which failed to land a probe on Moon in its first attempt in September 2019 (Chandrayaan-2), has begun work on Chandrayaan-3 with a deadline of November 2020, sources said.​

Isro has formed multiple committees — an overall panel and three sub-committees — and held at least four high-level meetings since October. The new mission will include only a lander and rover, as the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is functioning well. On Tuesday, the overview committee met with the agenda of reviewing the configuration of Chandrayaan-3. It also looked into the recommendations of various sub-committees on propulsion, sensors, overall engineering, navigation and guidance.​

​

Work is in full flow, said a scientist. So far Isro has looked at 10 specific aspects of the mission, including landing site selection, absolute navigation and local navigation. Sources quoted an office order issued on October 5 as having instructed: “It is essential to carry out detailed analysis on the changes for improving the lander system considering the recommendations of both the expert committee (formed to look into Chandrayaan-2) and the recommendations which could not be implemented due to advanced stage of Chandrayaan-2 flight preparation.”​

​

Another scientist said among the top priority for the new mission is “strengthening the legs of the lander”, so that it allows landing even with a high velocity. Sources said that Isro will be building a new lander and a rover. No final decision has been taken on the number of payloads on the lander.​

​

A source said Isro teams are looking at having a detachable module that will carry fuel. “Tentatively called the propulsion module, it will help in taking the landing module — which will have the rover sitting inside the lander — to the lunar orbit,” the source said. In Chandrayaan-2, fuel carried on the orbiter was used for all the manoeuvres performed post launch and until the separation of the landing module. Here, the propulsion module will aid this process. Isro is also looking at reducing the number of manoeuvres around Earth and also during the transit to the lunar orbit. “Instead of six manoeuvres, we may have just three or four,” a source said.​

​

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...oon-by-november-2020/articleshow/72047390.cms​

So sh*t just got real. CY-3 will be a fully Indian project. Maybe the joint project with Japan will be called something else. November 2020, barely a year from now, wow !

The intention here seems to be to prove the Lander and Rover technology.

It will be used for the combined mission with JAXA.

 

[Gautam]

The intention here seems to be to prove the Lander and Rover technology.

Yep.

It will be used for the combined mission with JAXA.

Yep.

We need to prove the tech ourselves before pitching it to others. The article mentions strengthening the legs and a different descent control system. It seems ISRO has figured out what went wrong with Vikram lander. Also this being a lander/rover only mission we can probably go for a heavier lander/rover then the Vikram. Not sure how safe that would be though.

 

[Golden_Rule]

Yep.

Yep.

We need to prove the tech ourselves before pitching it to others. The article mentions strengthening the legs and a different descent control system. It seems ISRO has figured out what went wrong with Vikram lander. Also this being a lander/rover only mission we can probably go for a heavier lander/rover then the Vikram. Not sure how safe that would be though.

“It is essential to carry out detailed analysis on the changes for improving the lander system considering the recommendations of both the expert committee (formed to look into Chandrayaan-2) and the recommendations which could not be implemented due to advanced stage of Chandrayaan-2 flight preparation.”

It seems like ISRO in Chandrayaan-2 mission may have tried to cut corners for limiting/optimizing the weight. Now that the Obiter is not needed, they can add extra safety into the design of the Lander + Rover, including all the recommendations.

 

[S. A. T. A]

Being cost effective and cost competitive makes sense for commercial satellite lauches. But mission to Moon, Mars and planetary bodies must be designed for success and not proving their economic viability. I would even advise ISRO to select a safe landing spot and not necessarily an uncharted territory like the south pole...

 

[vingensys]

Being cost effective and cost competitive makes sense for commercial satellite lauches. But mission to Moon, Mars and planetary bodies must be designed for success and not proving their economic viability. I would even advise ISRO to select a safe landing spot and not necessarily an uncharted territory like the south pole...

I guess no one in their right mind plan for failure, every agency plans for successful outcome. How do you do achieve your mission objective is a trade-off under the given constraints, namely payload capacity of launcher, etc. So it would be doing injustice to over simplify to the point of calling a mission as one developed to demonstrate the economic viability, whatever that means in space exploration

 

[S. A. T. A]

I guess no one in their right mind plan for failure, every agency plans for successful outcome. How do you do achieve your mission objective is a trade-off under the given constraints, namely payload capacity of launcher, etc. So it would be doing injustice to over simplify to the point of calling a mission as one developed to demonstrate the economic viability, whatever that means in space exploration

My remark was apropos to the post by "Golden_Rule where he stated ISRO may have cut corners to make the project viable. It is nobody's case that ISRO should not develop technologies that reduce the overall cost of the project. However off late we have heard too many statements regarding how ISRO programmes are cheaper than US space missions or Hollywood movies etc. The point i'm making is for certain prestigious projects cost should not be overriding concern. I was just going through an article which talks about " How Did ISRO Keep Moon Mission Cost Cheaper Than Hollywood Hit 'Interstellar'? Scientists Explain - This statement quoted below by an ISRO official explains some of the concerns raised here

He added that cost is a factor kept in mind since inception of a project. “India is a country where we can't think of spending lavishly such as the NASA or the European Space Agency. India can't spend hefty amounts on scientific exploratory missions,” he said.

 

[RISING SUN]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1194806962732425216

 

[Gautam]

Chandrayaan-3 plans indicate failures in Chandrayaan-2 | India News - Times of India

 

[Gautam]

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF SPACE
LOK SABHA
QUESTION NO : 1384
ANSWERED ON : 27.11.2019
Subject : Chandrayaan-III
Question by : Mr. Nitesh Ganga Deb.

QUESTION :

Will the Minister of SPACE be pleased to state :-

(a) whether the Government has any proposal for a Chandrayaan-III Mission in the near future;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of amount of money spent on Chandrayaan-II Mission?

ANSWER :

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PG & PENSIONS AND IN THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH) :

(a)Yes Sir,

(b) ISRO has drawn out a roadmap of lunar exploration missions to master the technologies required. This roadmap has been presented to the space commission. Based on the final analysis and recommendations of the expert committee, works on future lunar missions are progressing.

(c)Rs. 603 Crores.

Questions : Lok Sabha

 

[Gautam]

Work on project Chandrayaan-3 started, Government asked for approval to allocate Rs 75 crore from the Parliament

Original Article (Hindi)

सरकार ने चंद्रयान-3 (Chandrayaan-3) परियोजना की तैयारी शुरू कर दी है और इसके लिये संसद से 75 करोड़ रुपये आवंटित करने की मंजूरी मांगी है. संसद में पेश वर्ष 2019-20 की पूरक अनुदान मांगों के दस्तावेज से यह जानकारी प्राप्त हुई है. चालू वित्त वर्ष के लिए अनुदान मांगों के पहले बैच के तहत सरकार ने अंतरिक्ष विभाग के मद में नई परियोजना चंद्रयान-3 के लिये उक्त धनराशि आवंटित करने की संसद से मंजूरी मांगी है.​

ये धनराशि दो श्रेणियों में मांगी गई है। वित्त मंत्री निर्मला सीतारमण द्वारा पेश अनुदान की पूरक मांग संबंधी दस्तावेज में कहा गया है, ‘नई परियोजना अर्थात चंद्रयान-3 के व्यय को पूरा करने के लिये 15 करोड़ रुपये अनुदान को मंजूरी दी जाए.' इसमें कहा गया है, ‘नई परियोजना अर्थात चंद्रयान-3 के संदर्भ में मशीनरी और उपकरण तथा अन्य पूंजीगत व्यय के लिये 60 करोड़ रुपये अनुदान को मंजूरी दी जाए.'​

Translated to English

The government has started preparations for the Chandrayaan-3 project and has sought approval from Parliament for allocation of Rs 75 crore. This information has been obtained from the document for the supplementary demands for the year 2019-20 presented in Parliament. Under the first batch of grant demands for the current financial year, the government has sought approval from Parliament to allocate the said funds for the new project Chandrayaan-3 under the head of the Department of Space.​

These funds have been sought in two categories. In the document related to the supplementary demand for grant presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, it said, 'Grant of Rs 15 crore should be approved for meeting the expenditure of the new project ie Chandrayaan-3'. It says, 'In the context of the new project i.e. Chandrayaan-3, a grant of Rs 60 crore should be approved for machinery and equipment and other capital expenditure.'​

This is the seed fund to begin work.

 

[Gautam]

India will land on the Moon in 2020 with Chandrayaan-3: Govt

 

[shaxm]

India will land on the Moon in 2020 with Chandrayaan-3: Govt

Would be nice if they are not including japs in this one. GO ISRO!

 

[Gautam]

Would be nice if they are not including japs in this one. GO ISRO!

Read this :

Chandrayaan-3: Second bid to land on Moon by November 2020​

BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), which failed to land a probe on Moon in its first attempt in September 2019 (Chandrayaan-2), has begun work on Chandrayaan-3 with a deadline of November 2020, sources said.​

Isro has formed multiple committees — an overall panel and three sub-committees — and held at least four high-level meetings since October. The new mission will include only a lander and rover, as the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is functioning well. On Tuesday, the overview committee met with the agenda of reviewing the configuration of Chandrayaan-3. It also looked into the recommendations of various sub-committees on propulsion, sensors, overall engineering, navigation and guidance.​

​

Work is in full flow, said a scientist. So far Isro has looked at 10 specific aspects of the mission, including landing site selection, absolute navigation and local navigation. Sources quoted an office order issued on October 5 as having instructed: “It is essential to carry out detailed analysis on the changes for improving the lander system considering the recommendations of both the expert committee (formed to look into Chandrayaan-2) and the recommendations which could not be implemented due to advanced stage of Chandrayaan-2 flight preparation.”​

​

Another scientist said among the top priority for the new mission is “strengthening the legs of the lander”, so that it allows landing even with a high velocity. Sources said that Isro will be building a new lander and a rover. No final decision has been taken on the number of payloads on the lander.​

​

A source said Isro teams are looking at having a detachable module that will carry fuel. “Tentatively called the propulsion module, it will help in taking the landing module — which will have the rover sitting inside the lander — to the lunar orbit,” the source said. In Chandrayaan-2, fuel carried on the orbiter was used for all the manoeuvres performed post launch and until the separation of the landing module. Here, the propulsion module will aid this process. Isro is also looking at reducing the number of manoeuvres around Earth and also during the transit to the lunar orbit. “Instead of six manoeuvres, we may have just three or four,” a source said.​

​

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...oon-by-november-2020/articleshow/72047390.cms​

So sh*t just got real. CY-3 will be a fully Indian project. Maybe the joint project with Japan will be called something else. November 2020, barely a year from now, wow !

CY-3 will be fully Indian. The project with the Japanese is still on, probably with a different name.

 

[Gautam]

ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 to land on Moon and come back to Earth? Here’s what C4 expert expects

By: Huma Siddiqui | Published: January 17, 2020 8:23:06 PM

Chandrayaan-2’s ‘15 minutes of terrifying time’ shall be the main focus of technical work pertaining to Vikram-2 of Chandrayaan-3 mission.

Chandrayaan 3: ISRO, in its true tradition, is most likely to take the complete Lander technology up by a few notches to create an advance lender, a more complex unit.

ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3: The next phase of India’s ambitious Moon mission — Chandrayaan-3, is scheduled for take-off by end of 2021, very much in the true spirit of the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) ever-progressive space endeavours. The engineering corrections to overcome all possible causes of hard landing experienced by Chandrayaan-2’s lander Vikram shall surely be the basis of re-design and building a fail-safe system. Chandrayaan-2’s ‘15 minutes of terrifying time’ shall be the main focus of technical work pertaining to Vikram-2 ofChandrayaan-3 mission. ISRO has announced that the existing Orbiter module ofChanrayaan-2, which is already orbiting the Moon, shall be associated with the lander/Rover of Chandrayaan-3 to create a communication support Link. Thus, in the absence of its own orbiter, it is likely that after launch and on completion of the ‘sling-shot’ trajectory to reach Moon, Vikram-2 uses an independent Lander Module (LM). When in Lunar orbit, this Lander Module shall assist in launching the Lander (with a Rover) on to the lunar surface.

What is unique about Landing on Lunar Surface ?

According to Milind Kulshreshtha, C4 expert, “During its interstellar course, a spacecraft takes various measurements and streams these down to the ground control for necessary navigation solutions. On the other hand, the ground control radios up a command sequence for various course corrections for the well-timed firing of small onboard attitude correction rockets, thereby, keeping the spacecraft on a pre-defined course. However, during landing on the lunar surface, once the Lander commences its descent, itis more or less in an autonomous navigation phase and is highly dependent on onboard sensors and instrumentation, and locally controls its liquid propulsion rockets.”

“Once decoupled from the Orbiter, a Landercommences its Powered Descent Orbit Insertion stage and while travelling in one direction, finds it difficult to manoeuvre or turn, especially under the influence of lunar gravity. Thus, Lander has to mainly rely on the gravity for any trajectory change though some smaller amount of correction is achievable through the small attitude rockets onboard. The soft landing is achieved when the underside main thruster rocket provides the hovering over the landing spot and eases the lander on to the lunar surface,” he explains.
As per ISRO’s designed feature of VikramLander, at an altitude of 30 km, an absolute navigation phase was designed to commence using measurements obtained from Ka-Band -1 altimeter, Laser Altimeter(LASA) and Land Position Detection Camera (LPDC). “The fine braking phase is mainly dependent on LASA inputs and during this Fine braking phase, the Landercraft is to be in a vertical seating position with the Lander position detection camera scanning the moon surface so as to commence the hovering phase with only two engines firing. LASA, Ka Band-2 altimeter and Lander Horizontalvelocity camera (LHVC) are highly active during this hovering. At 40mre-targeting phase occurs with a parabolic trajectory. Here, LASA, Ka Band-2, LHVC and Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDC) feed real-time inputs to the navigation computers onboard to guide the Lander towards a soft-touch down. In the terminal phase, at 10m altitude, the Central engine fires to achieve a soft touch down,” according to the C4 expert.

ISRO, in its true tradition, is most likely to take the complete Lander technology up by a few notches to create an advance lender, a more complex unit which is more in sync with its futuristic programmes like Gaganyaan mission of 2022. With Gagaanyan, India aims to be the fourth nation to launch a human space mission from its country and safely return the astronaut back to Earth. Further, ISRO plans to build a SpaceStation of its own. Keeping these activity timelines in mind, it may very well serve the cause that Vikram-2 of Chandrayaan-3 is a Lunar Lander with a decent stage and also, an ascent stage to launch itself back to Earth using the Lander Module (leaving the descent stage on Moon surface). “It may be exciting to imagine that this ascent stage returns back to Earth (with moon sample), while also assist in testing the crucial technology of space manoeuvring, undocking/docking in space and enhances the expertise on re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere,” says Kulshreshtha.

More about Re-entry Missions

The space agency has indicated the launch of two space missions with humanoids on board (to simulate the human functions), including testing of the improved and human-friendly Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III (GSLV Mk III). The first humanoid mission launch is planned in2020 itself. However, ISRO has only tested two re-entry missions out of 108spacecraft missions were undertaken by it. The latest re-entry mission was CARE(Crew module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment) in 2014 and previous was SpaceCapsule Recovery Experiment (SRE – 1) in 2007.

In January’ 2007, ISRO launched Space CapsuleRecovery Experiment (SRE – 1) mission, which comprised of a 550 kg capsule to showcase the ability to conduct micro-gravity experiments on an orbiting platform. Along with the experiments, essential data and expertise were gained during the re-entry phase in navigation, guidance and control and hypersonic thermodynamic measurements. Also, the development of reusable thermal protection system(TPS), recovery through deceleration and technology for reusable vehicles was an acritical experience for ISRO.

In December’2014, the second re-entry mission was conducted successfully using the 3775Kg Crew Module (CM) as payload in GSLVMK-III-X rocket under Crew module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE)Mission. GSLV MK-III rocketed the CM up to designed 126 km height, following which the CARE separated from the Rocket’s upper stage and re-entered the atmosphere to land safely (with the help of parachutes) in the Andaman sea. The CARE mission lasted for about24 minutes in all and was mainly focused on testing re-entry technologies like blunt-body re-entry thermodynamics and parachute deployment in a cluster configuration.

ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 to land on Moon and come back to Earth? Here’s what C4 expert expects

It seems the CY-3 mission might be delayed a bit. Also sample return is back. Maybe this will be a trial run of sample return before the joint mission with Japan.

 

[vingensys]

ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 to land on Moon and come back to Earth? Here’s what C4 expert expects

may very well serve the cause that Vikram-2 of Chandrayaan-3 is a Lunar Lander with a decent stage and also, an ascent stage to launch itself back to Earth using the Lander Module (leaving the descent stage on Moon surface). “It may be exciting to imagine that this ascent stage returns back to Earth (with moon sample), while also assist in testing the crucial technology of space manoeuvring, undocking/docking in space and enhances the expertise on re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere,” says Kulshreshtha.

Aren't we jumping the guns here? Talking about a sample return mission.

Just a back of the palm calculation.
Mk3 payload capacity :~4000 kg
CY3 orbiter weight : wet : 3850 kg
Dry : 1308 kg
So fuel : 2542 kg

Orbiter weight. : Wet : 2379 kg
Dry : 682 kg
Fuel. : 1697 kg

Lander. : Wet : 1471 kg
Dry : 626 kg
Fuel. : 845 kg
So doing a linear approximation, approx 48 percent of mass of CY3 being lander, the fuel required to boost the lander alone to lunar orbit be 1200 kg. But I'm adding orbiter operation fuel to this calc, so inaccurate. The fuel on board orbiter when start of mission is approx 500kg ( from this link here )
So the fuel used for orbit insertion is 1697 - 500 = 1197 kg.
As mass of lander is approx 48%, if that same percent fuel is required just for lander, then that comes to 574 kg

So the minimum mass of CY3 that is just the lander with adequate fuel would be , at liftoff,
1471 + 574 kg = 1915 kg

So one have approx 1000kg to add propulsion module, and a probable descent ascent module. Is that possible?

 

[Gautam]

India-Brazil Space Cooperation: South American nation to track ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan missions

By: Huma Siddiqui | Published: January 23, 2020 7:08:15 PM

Both India and Brazil on the sidelines of the 6th BRICS summit in 2014 inked agreement for setting up a Brazilian earth station for receiving data from Indian satellites.

Tracking support for Indian satellites including Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan missions will be the focus of India Brazil Space Cooperation talks on Saturday. Also, the two sides will talk about the launch of Amazonia-1 satellite onboard PSLV in June-July this year from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Confirming this, senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), through its Ground stations in Alcantara and Cuiaba are already providing tracking support for Indian satellites including Chandrayaan-I, Megha Tropiques, MOM, and ASTROSAT).”

Both India and Brazil on the sidelines of the 6th BRICS summit in 2014 inked agreement for setting up a Brazilian earth station for receiving data from Indian satellites. Officials confirmed that the Indian Space Agency is already imparting training on how to operate the station and gather data through remote sensing. This, in turn, is being used by Brazilian scientists for their own training.

Financial Express Online was the first to report about the launch of the Brazilian Satellite in 2020. According to a representative of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), “The launch of Amazonia with PSLV later this year is confirmed. It is expected to be launched either in June or July.”

Amazonia-1 which will be the primary payload, not a hitch-hike satellite has been built, designed and tested in Brazil. It will be Brazil’s first satellite for Earth Observation.

It will provide remote sensing data (images) to observe and monitor deforestation especially in the Amazon region, and also the diversified agriculture throughout the country.

Several documents for space cooperation have been signed between the two governments as well as the Space Agencies level since 2000.

Space Cooperation

From October 2009-September 2013 Brazil has received data from India’s Resourcesat-1 satellite. And presently it is receiving data from Resourcesat-2 since October 2014.

The images from the Brazilian Satellite Amazonia-1 is which is getting ready for the launch later this year from India is going to be used by that country to observe and monitor deforestation especially in the Amazon region, and also diversified vegetation and agricultural activities across that country.

India-Brazil Space Cooperation: South American nation to track ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan missions

 

[Gautam]

Aren't we jumping the guns here? Talking about a sample return mission.

Just a back of the palm calculation.
Mk3 payload capacity :~4000 kg
CY3 orbiter weight : wet : 3850 kg
Dry : 1308 kg
So fuel : 2542 kg

Orbiter weight. : Wet : 2379 kg
Dry : 682 kg
Fuel. : 1697 kg

Lander. : Wet : 1471 kg
Dry : 626 kg
Fuel. : 845 kg
So doing a linear approximation, approx 48 percent of mass of CY3 being lander, the fuel required to boost the lander alone to lunar orbit be 1200 kg. But I'm adding orbiter operation fuel to this calc, so inaccurate. The fuel on board orbiter when start of mission is approx 500kg ( from this link here )
So the fuel used for orbit insertion is 1697 - 500 = 1197 kg.
As mass of lander is approx 48%, if that same percent fuel is required just for lander, then that comes to 574 kg

So the minimum mass of CY3 that is just the lander with adequate fuel would be , at liftoff,
1471 + 574 kg = 1915 kg

So one have approx 1000kg to add propulsion module, and a probable descent ascent module. Is that possible?

Those figures are from CY-2 mission. CY-3 isn't likely to have an orbiter at all, instead we might get to see the entire payload land on the moon. The mention of sample return seems to suggest that a part of the payload might be designed to lift off from the moon surface and head back to earth. Also, remember the CY-2 orbiter getting a massive boost of service life(from designed 1 year to 7.5 years) due to precise orbital insersion and over-performance of the GSLV MK-3 ? It is possible that the GSLV today can do better than the spec sheet 4000 kg GTO.

That said you are right, designing such a return module with in the constraints of space and eight would be difficult. But it is still possible given we are willing to settle for a tiny moon rock as a "sample".

 

[Gautam]

A new paper was presented by JAXA at the 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in Texas, USA from March 16–20, 2020. The paper is titled "OBJECTIVE AND CONFIGURATION OF A PLANNED LUNAR POLAR EXPLORATION MISSION". I've copied it here. Please read the entire post, it is an excellent read. If not at least read the bold highlighted part.

Introduction :

Multiple remote sensing dataset (e.g. visible and near-infrared, Layman-α, and neutron observation of the lunar surface) derived by recent lunar exploration missions suggested that water ice might be widely present in the lunar polar region. For example, neutron spectrometer data indicates that hydrogen abundance is much higher at the latitude higher than 85 degree in both north and south poles than in the lower latitude. And the estimated water equivalent hydrogen in the top ∼1 m layer of lunar regolith is up to ~0.5 wt.%. Also, near-infrared spectral measurements of the ejecta induced by artificial-impact in the permanently shadowed region reported that the water abundance at the impact site is several wt.% and the water came out from the relatively shallow depth (up to several meters). The observed water ice is assumed to be foreign origin, which is delivered to the lunar surface as a comet or asteroidal impactor or formed by interaction between the solar wind and minerals in regolith. However, currently its actual origin, abundance, condensation mechanism, and lateral and vertical distribution is not clear. This information will enable us to understand transportation (or probably formation) mechanism with supply flux of the water to the Earth-Moon region in the solar system. In addition to the scientific interest, there is strong interest in using water ice (if present) as an in-situ resources. Specifically, usingwater ice as a propellant will significantly affect future exploration scenarios and activities because the propellant generated from the water can be used for ascent from the lunar surface and can reduce the mass of the launched spacecraft of lunar landing missions. To access the abundance and distribution of the water in the lunar polar region, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is planning a polar exploration missionin collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In this presentation, we discuss an objective, current configuration, and landing site candidates of the polar exploration mission.

Mission objective :

Many studies searching water in the lunar polar region reports positive results as nicely reviewed in. However, each of the currently available datasets have limitation. For example, in the neutron observation, it detects hydrogen but cannot directly measure water. For spectral measurements, it can detect water ice at the very surface of the lunar regolith though water can be present at the deeper area, where the temperature is lower. Also, the estimated abundance of the water varies from less than 0.1 wt.% up to ~30 wt.%. And there are negative reports regarding water presence. Therefore currently, abundance, condensation mechanism, and lateral and vertical distribution of the water at the lunar polar region is unclear. To solve these problems, JAXA is planning a lunar polar exploration mission within the framework of international collaboration with ISRO. Objective of the polar exploration mission is to obtain information re-garding water abundance, distribution, and condensa-tion mechanism at the lunar polar region to evaluate possibility for utilizing water as a resource in the future missions. To attain this objective, we need to land on the lunar surface at the polar region and directly measure water by conducting in-situ measurements. And if there is water, we also need to know it’s quantity (how much), quality (does it contain other phases such as CO2 and CH4 or not), and usability (how deep do we need to drill or how much energy is required for drilling the regolith to derive the water) for assessing if we can use it as resources. The mission passed the mission definition review and project readiness review in JAXA last year, and it is planned to be a phase A mission early this year (2020). The launch will be by JAXA’s H3 rocket in around 2023.

Spacecraft configuration :

In this mission, we are planning that ISRO and JAXA develop a lander and a rover respectively (Fig. 1). Mass of the rover is around 350 kg (including payloads) and will carry multiple instruments both developed by JAXA and ISRO to attain objective of the mission. The rover also has capability of drilling the surface regolith up to 1.5 m depths, bringing up the regolith sample from the drilled depth, and transferring it to the instruments. The rover is designed to move and carried out measurements at the shadowed area for a short period of time. Overall mission duration is estimated to be more than 2 months after the landing onto the lunar surface.


Landing site selection :

To attain the objective of this mission, considering unique condition of the lunar polar region, we listed the following parameters as constraints to select the landing site (see a presentation by Inoue et al. in this meeting for the detail discussion of the data analyses) :

• Presence of water : Hydrogen distribution map derived by neutron observation suggests that water possibly distributed widely in the polar region (>85 degree). Though, the available neutron observation dataset is not capable to identify the hydrogen-rich location in less than 10 km scale, we can use the lunar surface temperature data to identify favorable sites.
• Surface topography : Detailed surface topography data obtained by the Orbiter Laser Altimeter onboard Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Terrain Camera on board SELENE(Kaguya) is used to identify suitable location for the landing.
• Communication capability : Direct communication from the Earth is a fundamental requirement for our mission. Visibility from the Earth is calculated for each location.
• Duration of sunshine : To enables the long mission periods, longer illumination condition for the lander is required. Illumination condition is simulated using digital elevation models to obtain the sunlight days per year and the number of continuous sunshine periods at each site. These analytical results were superimposed to select the landing site candidates (Fig.2). Currently, around 30 sites in total are identified as the candidates for the north and the south pole.

Model instruments and operation :

JAXA set model instruments for this mission to obtain information regarding water to evaluate possibility for utilizing water as a resource in the future missions. The model instruments were set to help designing the rover though instrument selection procedures have not yet started. The model instruments are; neutron spectrometer, infra-red spectral imager, ground penetrating radar, direct wa-ter measurement package (consist of a thermo gravimetric analyzer, mass spectrometer and cavity ring-down spectrometer). By conducting measurements from the surface and of the heated regolith samples, we are going to obtain direct evidence of the presence of water. And also, will get information of its abundance, distribution, and condensation mechanism and origin (see Karouji et al. in this meeting for the detail discussion of the instrument specification and their operation plan).

https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2020/pdf/1830.pdf


Other papers by JAXA on the mission :

https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2020/pdf/1852.pdf

https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2020/pdf/1772.pdf

Suffice it to say very solid work is ongoing on this front and the joint mission is not fiction.