New Delhi:  (Chandrayaan-4) The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a new lunar mission "Chandrayaan-4". Mission Chandrayaan 4 aims to develop technologies needed to land Indian astronauts on the Moon and bring them back safely to Earth.

Why is Mission Chandrayaan-4 special?

The statement issued by the government said that the Chandrayaan-4 mission will acquire fundamental technologies to land Indian astronauts on the Moon (planned by the year 2040) and return them safely to Earth. The government said that key technologies required to complete docking/undocking, landing, safe return to Earth and lunar sample collection and analysis will be used.

How much will Chandrayaan-4 cost?

The statement said that the total cost of the technology demonstration mission Chandrayaan-4 will be Rs 2,104.06 crore. All critical technologies are envisaged to be developed indigenously. ISRO will be responsible for the development and launch of the spacecraft. Mission Chandrayaan 4 is expected to be completed within 36 months of the approval of this mission with the participation of industry and academia.

What is China's Mission Moon?

It is noteworthy that a research paper published by Chinese scientists said that the soil brought by China's Chang'e-6 mission from the less explored far side of the Moon has 'unique features' compared to other lunar samples.

Chang'e-6 soil samples have a lower density than previous samples taken from other parts of the moon, indicating a more porous and looser structure, a team of scientists said on Tuesday in their first paper published on lunar samples from the far side of the moon.

The Chang'e-6 samples contain significantly more plagioclase than the Chang'e-5 samples, while they contain significantly less olivine. The study also found that the Chang'e-6 lithic fragment samples are mainly composed of basalt, breccia, agglutinate, glass, and leucocret.

Geochemical analysis of the Chang'e-6 lunar samples showed that the concentrations of trace elements such as thorium, uranium and potassium in them are significantly different from those obtained by the Apollo missions and the Chang'e-5 mission, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

China steps on the moon

China in May this year launched a 53-day lunar probe mission to collect samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time and bring them to Earth for scientific study, the first of its kind in the history of human lunar exploration, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

What is special about China's Chang'e 6?

Chang'e 6 consists of four components: an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a re-entry module. In June, Chang'e-6's returner brought back 1,935.3 grams of samples from the far side of the moon. The study was jointly conducted by members of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center and the Beijing Spacecraft System Engineering Institute.