In news
The ISRO and the Japanese space agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) held a virtual meeting to review projects the two are collaborating on, in particular the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission.
Aim
- The mission aims at an in-situ observation of areas where water is believed to exist, and obtain ground data on the quantity of water, besides understanding the distribution, conditions, form and other parameters of lunar water resources in the polar region.
- The mission is also meant to obtain data on the quantity and forms of the water resources present on the Moon.
Highlights
- It will be launched sometime in 2024
- It involves sending a lander and rover on the Moon’s south pole region, much like Chandrayaan-2 attempted.
- The Lupex mission is being planned to demonstrate new surface exploration technologies related to vehicular transport and lunar night survival for sustainable lunar exploration in the polar regions — the south pole of the Moon in this case.
- The mission will use a lunar features-matching algorithm along with a navigational equipment from JAXA’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon mission, and the rover will carry instruments from both the space agencies.
Source: The Hindu
