The announcement is important as the Chandrayaan-3 lander, named Vikram, operated for only 14 Earth days (one lunar day) on Moon’s surface after the lunarcraft landed on south pole side of Moon on Aug 23, 2023, and Isro could gather valuable data for just two weeks. Isro chairman said, “We are going to work on a project with DAE under the guidance of our minister, where we are going to develop objects... Thereby, this type of lander will survive for up to 200 days.”

Elon Musk's ambitious plan to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars faces monumental challenges. SpaceX's Starship is designed for this, but orbital refuelling and survival on the harsh red planet are critical hurdles. Despite setbacks, testing progresses, with uncrewed cargo missions eyed for 2028, followed by potential human landings.