The Earth’s interior is still a mystery to us. While we have sent missions to probe the outer reaches of our Solar system, the deepest boreholes on Earth go down to only a few kilometres. The only way to learn what’s going on deep inside our planet, in the core and the mantle, is by indirect methods.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has achieved another leap in its quest for self-reliance in space, successfully launching the heaviest communication satellite ever lifted from Indian soil using its formidable heavy-lift rocket, the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3). Affectionately nicknamed ‘Bahubali’ for its sheer power, the LVM3-M5 mission placed the critical 4,410 kg CMS-03 spacecraft into a precise Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on Sunday, November 2, 2025, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.