The Periyar Science and Technology Centre in Chennai is upgrading its galleries to display models of Chandrayaan missions, Mangalyaan, a space crew module, and PSLV rockets in interactive formats. The exhibits aim to make India's major space achievements accessible to the public. The upgrade is a public science outreach initiative and provides a useful occasion to revisit the key technical and historical details of ISRO's flagship missions that the UPSC examiner regularly tests.

This news serves as a timely hook to revisit the architecture of India's space programme — the missions, their payloads, launch vehicles, and firsts.

Chandrayaan-1 (2008) was India's first lunar mission, launched by PSLV-C11. It carried 11 payloads (5 Indian, 3 European, 2 American, 1 Bulgarian) and its Moon Impact Probe confirmed the presence of water molecules on the Moon — a landmark discovery. Chandrayaan-2 (2019), launched by GSLV Mk-III, consisted of an orbiter, lander (Vikram), and rover (Pragyan); the lander hard-crashed on the lunar surface. Chandrayaan-3 (2023), also launched by LVM3 (formerly GSLV Mk-III), successfully soft-landed near the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023 — making India the first country to land near the south pole and the fourth nation overall to achieve a soft lunar landing.

Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission, MOM), launched in 2013 by PSLV-C25, made India the first Asian nation and the first country to succeed in its maiden Mars mission. It was developed in a record 15 months at a cost of approximately ₹450 crore — cheaper than the Hollywood film 'Gravity.'

The crew module references India's Gaganyaan programme — ISRO's human spaceflight mission. The Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) was tested in 2014, and a full crewed mission is targeted for 2026. Understanding the role of PSLV, GSLV, and LVM3 as distinct launch vehicles — their payload capacities and orbit types — is essential static knowledge behind any of these missions.