Chandrayaan to Mangalyaan: Biggest space missions of ISRO

Image: Wiki commons

While NASA is considered the first and last stop for all space activities, India is fast catching up. ISRO has made a mark on the global front for its various successful and remarkable space missions. (Image: Pixabay)

Currently, the highly anticipated Chandrayaan-3 mission is underway. The Vikram Lander is expected to make a landing on the lunar surface on August 23.  (Image: Chandrayaan-3)

With all the eyeballs monitoring India's Chandrayaan-3, here are some of the biggest space launches of ISRO. (Image: Pixabay)

India's first lunar mission was launched in 2008 with Chandrayaan-1. This mission confirmed the presence of water on moon and discovered evidence of widespread water in the form of ice in the permanently shadowed region of the moon's surface. (Image: PTI)

Chandrayaan-1, 2008

In 2019, India launched it's second lunar mission with Chandrayaan-2. The spacecraft comprised an orbiter, a lander (Vikram), and a rover (Pragyan). Although the landing was rough, the orbiter is still intact and has shared some valuable information with India so far. (Image: PTI)

Chandrayaan-2, 2019

The Gaganyaan was announced in 2018. It is a crewed orbital spacecraft that aims to demonstrate the nation's human spaceflight capabilities, conduct experiments in microgravity, and pave the way for future space exploration missions, and put Indian astronauts back in space.  The first crewed mission aims to carry two to three astronauts to the low Earth orbit (LEO) and bring them back safely. It was set for 2022 launch to coincide with the 75th anniversary of India's independence. However, due to technical challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic, the timeline was revised. The first crewed mission is now expected to take place in 2025. (Image: PTI, Representative)

Gaganyaan

After Chandrayaan-1, ISRO launched its spacecraft to explore Mars with the Mangalyaan mission. With a focus on studying the Martian atmosphere, surface, and mineral composition, the Mangalyaan spacecraft successfully reached the Mars orbit in 2014. India is the first Asian nation to have achieved this feat. (Image: ISRO, representative)

Mangalyaan, 2013

The Cartosat satellites are Earth observation satellites primarily used for cartographic applications, mapping, and monitoring. Notable satellites in this series include Cartosat-2A, Cartosat-2B, and Cartosat-3. (Image: PTI)

Cartosat series

The Geosynchronous Satellite (GSAT) series consists of satellites used for communication, remote sensing, and meteorological applications. Satellites in this series include GSAT-6, GSAT-7A, and GSAT-30.

GSAT series