India is currently preparing for a 3rd moon mission months after a failed attempt. The announcement was made recently during a press conference with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and comes as a shock since its most recent mission was a failure. 

The mission, named Chandrayaan-3 which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit will include a new propulsion module, moon lander and rover, Kailasavadivoo Sivan stated. Sivan is an Indian space scientist and the chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organization. The new equipment would cost around $35 million, with its launcher costing another $51 million. If successful, India will become just the fourth country to make a successful landing on the moon, after the United States, the Soviet Union and China. India’s first lunar mission was in 2008, and it didn’t end very well as it crashed into the moon. The announcement comes months after India’s failed Chandrayaan-2 moon landing mission, which it’s goal was to collect mineral and chemical samples. India’s plan is to become involved and treated as a very important space program, and to put Indian astronauts in space by 2022. Sivan recently spoke that the ISRO are making “good progress” toward its first human flight mission, and already has astronauts training for it. 

The Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi has said that they have learned a lot from all of their mistakes, and that they only are going to help the ISRO accomplish their very important future goals. India has made some significant achievements over this last decade, including becoming the first Asian nation to reach Mars, launching a record 104 satellites in one mission and becoming one of four countries to shoot down one of its own satellites, in what was claimed an anti-satellite test.  Most importantly India has been able to keep all of their space projects on the cheaper side which is important because there has been some criticism over why India has been doing these missions to space when there are other areas to focus on, space journalist Jonathan O’Callaghan told CNN last year. “I think it’s important for the country to do these missions on a relatively low budget to provide inspiration and aspiration for the general public.” With all the recent success for India and space there shouldn’t be any doubt that this nation is heading in the right direction and will continue to be a vital space player for years to come.