Chandrayaan 3: What's next after Moon mission? Here's what ISRO is planning

While all eyes are on Chandrayaan 3 and India's second attempt to land on the Moon, space agency ISRO has other significant missions and tests in the pipeline.

First is pre-testing for the Gaganyaan astronaut mission, for which ISRO might conduct two abort missions this year, and an unmanned mission in early 2024.

The actual sending of Indian astronauts to space might happen in 2024 or 2025 if all the tests are successful.

India is also collaborating with the US to send an astronaut to the International Space Station next year.

Then there is India's first solar mission. The launch window for Aditya L1 is between August this year and January next year.

ISRO's second mission to Mars is currently in the "study" phase. ISRO is also working on a reusable launch vehicle, like SpaceX rockets.

An autonomous landing test was successful in April, and more tests are in the pipeline.

Through the Chandryaan-3 programme, ISRO is crossing new frontiers by demonstrating soft-landing on the lunar surface by its lunar module and demonstrating roving on the lunar terrain, the space agency said.

The LVM3-M4 rocket (formerly GSLVMkI II) dubbed as 'Fat Boy' by the space scientists for its ability to carry a heavy payload, would carry Chandrayaan-3 on Friday as ISRO's ambitious moon mission is hugely anticipated from this spaceport on Friday.

The soft landing of the spacecraft is planned for late August. The mission is expected to be supportive to future interplanetary missions.

Chandrayaan-3 mission consists of an indigenous propulsion module, lander module and a rover with the objective of developing and demonstrating new technologies required for inter-planetary missions.

Friday's mission is the fourth operational flight of LVM3 which aims to launch the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into a Geo Transfer Orbit.

The LVM3 vehicle has proved its versatility to undertake most complex missions including injecting multiple satellites and interplanetary missions among others. It is also the largest and heaviest launch vehicle ferrying domestic and international customer satellites, ISRO said.

Scientists at ISRO through the third moon mission aim to demonstrate various capabilities including reaching the orbit of the moon, making a soft-landing on the lunar surface using a lander, and a rover coming out of the lander to study the surface of the moon.

On Tuesday, the 'launch rehearsal' simulating the entire launch preparation and process that lasted for over 24 hours concluded at Sriharikota while the next day, the Mission Readiness Review was completed by the scientists.