ESA supports ISRO's Chandrayaan Moon mission

On 14 July, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch Chandrayaan-3 – a Moon mission featuring a lunar lander and a rover that will spend 14 days carrying out scientific activities on the surface.

In addition to ISRO’s own deep space communication antenna, the mission will rely on support from ground stations around the world, coordinated by ESA and NASA.

Communication is an essential part of every deep space mission. Ground stations on Earth keep operators safely connected to spacecraft as they venture into the unknowns and risks of space. Without ground station support, it’s impossible to get any data from a spacecraft, to know how it’s doing, to know if it is safe or even to know where it is.

ISRO operates a 32-metre deep space tracking station in India that enables it to locate, track, command and receive telemetry and scientific data from its distant spacecraft. But sometimes, ISRO’s operators need to track or command a spacecraft when it is outside the field of view of this antenna.

Building new giant antennas and control stations around the world is very expensive. So, like many space agencies and commercial companies across the globe, ISRO will receive support from the stations of partner organisations instead. Not only does this significantly reduces costs, but it also fosters international spaceflight collaboration.

Thanks to its global ‘Estrack’ network of deep space stations, ESA can help its partners track, command and receive data from spacecraft almost anywhere in the Solar System via its ESOC mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany. 

ESA’s 15 m antenna in Kourou, French Guiana, will be used to track Chandrayaan-3 during the days after launch to help ensure that the spacecraft survived the rigours of lift off and is in good health as it begins its journey to the Moon.

As the spacecraft recedes from Earth, ESA will coordinate tracking support from the 32-metre antenna operated by Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd in the UK. Goonhilly will support Chandrayaan-3’s propulsion and lander modules. Crucially, it will support the lander during the entire phase of lunar surface operations, helping to ensure that science data acquired by the rover arrives safely with ISRO in India. 

Data and telemetry sent back by Chandrayaan-3 arriving via Kourou and Goonhilly will first be forwarded to ESOC. From there, they will be sent to ISRO for analysis. 

The two European stations will compliment support from NASA’s Deep Space Network and ISRO’s own stations to ensure the spacecraft’s operators never lose sight of their pioneering Moon craft.

Follow @esaoperations on Twitter for updates on ESA’s support to Chandrayaan-3.