The polar satellite launch vehicle lifted off flawlessly, deploying its cargo into space. However, just minutes into the third stage burn, mission control detected deviations in velocity and altitude parameters. Engineers aborted the nominal sequence, switching to contingency protocols that salvaged some mission objectives.

Experts speculate the problem could stem from propulsion system failures, avionics glitches, or propellant flow irregularities. ISRO’s telemetry captured extensive data, now being scrutinized at the mission analysis center in Bengaluru. The primary spacecraft missed its target orbit, but smaller satellites hit their marks, minimizing losses.

Historically, PSLV has been ISRO’s workhorse, powering missions like Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan precursors. This rare failure prompts a review of stage separation mechanisms and engine reliability. Somanath noted that rigorous ground testing will follow to prevent recurrences.

The incident has sparked discussions on the challenges of reusable rocket tech transitions. ISRO remains committed to its 2024 launch calendar, including GSLV and SSLV flights. Stakeholders await the inquiry report, expected to provide insights bolstering India’s space ambitions amid global competition.

NASA’s Mars orbiters provided some of the clearest views. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera delivered sharp images of the comet’s developing coma, a cloud of gas and dust, as solar radiation began to affect its nucleus when it was approximately 19 million miles away.

Further insights came from NASA’s MAVEN orbiter, which detected a hydrogen halo using its Ultraviolet Spectrograph. This observation confirmed the sublimation of water-ice, indicating that 3I/ATLAS carries water originating from another star system.

Even the Perseverance rover on the Martian surface contributed, capturing a faint streak of the comet with its Mastcam-Z camera, showcasing the reach of modern planetary science. NASA’s solar observation missions, including STEREO, SOHO, and PUNCH, were also instrumental in revealing subtle tail structures influenced by solar wind.

Deep-space missions like Psyche and Lucy provided crucial orbital data, helping scientists precisely map the comet’s hyperbolic trajectory through our solar system.

On Earth, ISRO’s 1.2-meter telescope at Mount Abu provided detailed optical images, revealing the comet’s coma and detecting characteristic chemical emissions. The study of 3I/ATLAS is vital for understanding planetary formation in other systems, comparing chemical compositions across different stellar environments, and refining models of interstellar object travel.

In response to such threats, India is accelerating the creation of a dedicated seven-satellite constellation for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), extending to the crucial Strait of Malacca. The GSAT-7R launch is a key step in this strategic initiative.

Launched from Sriharikota on November 2, 2025, the 4,400 kg GSAT-7R is India’s heaviest communication satellite. It’s a sophisticated upgrade designed specifically for the Indian Navy, replacing an older satellite and showcasing India’s growing prowess in heavy-lift launches and military-space integration. This indigenous satellite enhances maritime communications, replacing aging infrastructure with robust multi-band (UHF, S-band, C-band, Ku-band) links. It ensures secure voice, data, and video connectivity for ships, submarines, and aircraft, improving coordination far from shore.

The GSAT-7R significantly strengthens India’s ‘blue-water’ navy posture in the strategically vital Indian Ocean Region, an area of increasing global interest and naval activity. Its extended spatial reach allows the Indian Navy to operate with greater confidence in distant waters. Furthermore, this satellite is a testament to India’s drive for ‘Aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in defense technology, with its components indigenously designed and developed.

Strategically, GSAT-7R acts as a force multiplier, enabling seamless network-centric operations for faster decision-making and enhanced situational awareness. Its extended reach in the IOR reduces reliance on terrestrial or third-party satellites, offering operational redundancy and resilience. The multi-band capability also improves interoperability across diverse naval platforms, including future unmanned systems. This launch signals India’s growing space-defense synergy and its commitment to deterring and managing maritime contingencies, positioning India as a key player in the region’s maritime security landscape.

Coronal Mass Ejections are colossal eruptions from the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, releasing vast amounts of plasma and magnetic fields into space. These powerful events can significantly affect celestial bodies. On May 10, 2024, a series of CMEs struck the Moon, causing a dramatic surge in the pressure of its day-side exosphere. ISRO scientists reported a more than tenfold increase in the density of neutral atoms and molecules within this tenuous lunar atmosphere, validating long-standing theoretical predictions.

The Moon’s exosphere, being a ‘surface-boundary exosphere,’ is highly susceptible to solar activity due to the Moon’s lack of a global magnetic field. This CME event amplified the liberation of atoms from the lunar surface, temporarily altering its atmospheric conditions, all of which were meticulously recorded by Chandrayaan-2. These findings are crucial for understanding lunar space weather and will significantly influence the design of future lunar missions and potential human habitats on the Moon. The study detailing this historic observation was published in Geophysical Research Letters, solidifying India’s growing prominence in the global space arena.

ISRO is also actively working on Chandrayaan 4 and Chandrayaan 5. Furthermore, a completed module of the space station is slated to be placed in orbit by 2035.

ISRO plans to increase the number of satellites launched in the next three years, approximately tripling the current number. Additionally, ISRO is working to enhance the payload capacity of its Mark III launcher, increasing it from 4,000 kg to 5,100 kg without raising costs. Astronauts Shubhanshu Shukla and Prasanth Nair have received extensive training, including in the United States, and their experience will be integrated into the Gaganyaan program.