IT was a busy 2023 for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as it achieved several significant milestones that further cemented its position as a key player in the global space community.
Following is an overview of some of the major accomplishments:
PSLV-C55 Mission: On April 22 two Singaporean satellites, TeLEOS-2 and Lumelite-4, were successfully launched, highlighting ISRO’s technological prowess.
TeLEOS-2, the primary payload weighing 741kg, was the focus of this mission, and its role, likely in Earth observation, communication, or scientific research, underscores its importance.
The smaller satellite, Lumelite-4, served as a co-passenger, demonstrating ISRO’s ability to efficiently manage multiple payloads.
GSLV-F12 and NVS-01 Satellite: ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F12) was used to launch India’s first second-generation navigation satellite, NVS-01, on May 29.
The satellite, weighing about 2,232 kg and equipped with an indigenous atomic clock, was injected into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, enhancing the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NaVIC) services.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission: A landmark achievement for ISRO in 2023 was the successful soft-landing of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the Moon’s South Pole on August 23.
This made India the first country to achieve a soft landing on the lunar South Pole and the fourth country globally to accomplish a soft landing on the Moon.
The mission’s lander, Vikram, equipped with the Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), played a pivotal role in gathering crucial data about the Moon’s surface temperature, probing up to 10cm below the surface. In parallel, the Pragyan rover conducted invaluable in-situ experiments, contributing substantially to our collective understanding of the Moon’s environment.
On December 20, ISRO was awarded the prestigious 2023 Leif Erikson Lunar Prize for its successful Chandrayaan-3 mission. This accolade, conferred by the Exploration Museum in Iceland’s Husavik, celebrates ISRO’s innovative achievements in space exploration, particularly the first soft landing of a spacecraft near the lunar South Pole achieved by Chandrayaan-3.
Aditya-L1 Mission: The Aditya-L1 Mission marks India’s pioneering entry into space-based solar observation, focusing on the comprehensive study of the Sun, particularly its outer atmosphere the solar corona. Launched on September 2, the mission is significant for being India’s first dedicated solar observatory in space, representing a major advancement in its space exploration capabilities.
Aditya-L1’s primary aim is to analyse solar phenomena, contributing significantly to our understanding of space weather, which includes the effects of solar activities like flares and coronal mass ejections on Earth’s atmosphere and space environment.
The mission is equipped with advanced instruments to capture detailed images and analyse the solar atmosphere, offering new insights into the Sun’s magnetic field and other solar activities. It is strategically positioned at the L1 Lagrange point, allowing uninterrupted observation of the Sun.
Aditya-L1’s contributions are pivotal in enhancing global understanding of the Sun and its influence on the solar system.
India’s ambitious manned space programme, Gaganyaan Mission, successfully completed its first uncrewed flight test on October 21, demonstrating ISRO’s capability to safely launch and return a spacecraft intended for astronauts. This crucial achievement is a major step toward India’s goal of conducting human spaceflight, positioning it alongside a select group of countries with this capability.
Concurrently, ISRO made notable progress in sustainable space exploration with its reusable launch vehicle technology on April 2. This innovation, aimed at multiple uses for launching payloads into space, represents a shift towards more cost-effective and environmentally friendly space missions.
Meanwhile, India also continues to play a key role in renewable energy as it currently stands fourth globally in solar power capacity.
In the last five years, the country’s solar installed capacity has experienced a monumental transformation, increasing from 21,651MW to 70,096MW in 2023.
With ambitious targets and policies like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI), India is propelling itself to achieve 500GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
As we move forward in 2024, the solar industry’s declining costs, enhanced energy storage solutions and grid advancements take centre stage.
India’s commitment to solar power is not just in words but in comprehensive policies and initiatives. The Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for the National Programme on High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules for achieving manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt (GW) scale in High-Efficiency Solar PV modules with an outlay of $3 billion has been introduced to boost domestic manufacturing and solidify India’s position as a solar powerhouse.
Another critical initiative underlining India’s commitment to solar energy is the Solar Park Scheme, designed to establish 50 Solar Parks of 500MW and above with a cumulative capacity of ~38GW by 2025-26. These solar parks act as hubs for solar energy generation, attracting investments and fostering a conducive environment for solar power development.
Moreover, the International Solar Alliance (ISA), launched in 2015 is a prime example of how collaborative efforts can steer the world toward a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable future. It is a member-centric, collaborative platform that includes Bahrain focused on action aimed at creating 450GW of renewable energy by 2030.
In October 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the idea of One Sun, One World, One Grid (OSOWOG) for the first time at the First Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The vision behind the initiative is the mantra that “the sun never sets”.
The idea is to harness solar energy from different parts of the world, where the sun is shining at any given moment, and efficiently transmit that power to areas where it is needed. By creating a connected global grid, regions that experience daylight can contribute excess solar power to other regions that may be in darkness, balancing energy production and consumption on a global scale.
The initiative is to be carried out in three phases:
In the first phase, the Indian grid would be connected to the grids of the Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asia to develop a common grid. This grid would then be used to share solar energy as needed, in addition to other renewable energy sources.
The second phase would connect the functional first phase to the pool of renewable resources in Africa.
The third phase would look at achieving true global interconnection with the aim of 2,600GW of interconnection by 2050.
The goal is to integrate as many countries as possible to create a single power grid of renewable energy.
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