A launch vehicle, commonly known as a rocket, is the powerful vehicle that carries a spacecraft from Earth into space. Its primary job is to generate enough thrust to overcome Earth’s gravity and place the mission on the correct path. Once it has completed this task, the rocket’s role ends.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The payload is the object that a space mission is designed to carry into space. In simple terms, it is the reason the rocket is launched. While the launch vehicle provides the ride, the payload performs the mission. Whether that’s studying Earth, exploring another planet, carrying astronauts, or conducting scientific experiments.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) releases an image of Chandrayaan-3 Vikram Lander clicked around 11 a.m. IST from about 15 m through a Pragyan rover's navigation camera, hours after the release of its first image, which shows the lander resting on the moon's surface. | Photo Credit: ANI
An orbiter is a spacecraft designed to travel around a planet, moon or another celestial body without landing on its surface. After reaching its destination, it enters orbit and continuously circles the object, collecting valuable scientific data from above.
Mangalyaan
A lander is a spacecraft designed to make a controlled, soft landing on the surface of another celestial body, such as the Moon, Mars or an asteroid. Unlike an orbiter, which remains in space, a lander reaches the surface and operates from a fixed location to carry out scientific investigations.
Philae
A rover is a robotic vehicle designed to move across the surface of another planet, moon or other celestial body after being deployed by a lander. Unlike a lander, which stays in one place, a rover can travel to different locations, allowing scientists to study a much larger area and investigate features that cannot be reached from a single landing site.
This NASA photo released June 7, 2018 shows a low-angle self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover vehicle at the site from which it reached down to drill into a rock target called "Buckskin" on lower Mount Sharp. Photo: AFP | Photo Credit: HANDOUT
Every mission is like a well-coordinated team, with each part playing a vital role in expanding our understanding of the universe. That’s what World Space Exploration Day celebrates.
Published - July 20, 2026 10:38 am IST