Chandrayaan-3 Successfully Lands on the Moon: India Celebrates Historic Achievement

By IndraStra Global Editorial Team

On August 23,  India made history by successfully landing its Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft on the Moon's south pole. The landing marks the first time any country has successfully landed on the lunar south pole, a region believed to contain water ice.
The Chandrayaan 3 mission was launched on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, atop the medium-lift Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3) rocket. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on August 5th and descended to the surface on August 23rd. The landing was carried out by the Vikram lander, which touched down on the surface at 6:03 PM IST (8:33 AM ET 1233 GMT)

Mission Objectives

According to the Times of India, Chandrayaan-3 has an estimated cost of approximately $77 million. The primary goals of Chandrayaan-3, as outlined on the official website, encompass three key objectives: a safe lunar landing, the demonstration of rover operations, and the execution of scientific experiments on the lunar surface.\
The mission's design called for a propulsion module responsible for transporting both the Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander, known as "valor," and the solar-powered rover named Pragyan, which translates to "wisdom" in Sanskrit, to the Moon's south pole, as explained by NASA. Following this, the module entered lunar orbit and maneuvered into a nearly circular trajectory approximately 60 miles (100 km) above the lunar surface. Subsequently, the lander separated from the module and executed a controlled, soft landing on the lunar surface, successfully achieving this milestone on August 23, 2023.
The lander and rover are slated to conduct scientific research on the lunar surface for a duration equivalent to 14 Earth days, which equates to a single lunar day. Meanwhile, the propulsion module will conduct its own scientific experiments focused on observations of Earth.
The spacecraft package encompasses the rover, lander, and propulsion module and incorporates "cutting-edge technologies" to fulfill the mission's objectives, according to ISRO. Some examples of these advanced technologies include the rover's hazard detection and avoidance systems, a specialized landing leg mechanism designed for a gentle touchdown, and altimeters and velocity instruments for precise altitude and speed measurements during lunar operations.

The Backstory of Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-1 marked India's inaugural lunar mission, commencing its journey on October 22, 2008, when it lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket. By November 8, it had successfully entered lunar orbit. Notably, on November 14 of the same year, it deployed a Moon Impact Probe that intentionally collided with the moon's surface.
One of Chandrayaan-1's most renowned accomplishments was detecting water ice on the moon. This revelation was made by NASA in September 2009, relying on data gathered by NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument. This remarkable instrument identified signs of hydroxyl, a water-related compound composed of hydrogen and oxygen, within the moon's regolith, or lunar dust. The Moon Impact Probe also contributed to this discovery by detecting water's signature before it impacted the lunar surface. Further validation of this discovery came from data collected by the Cassini spacecraft and the Deep Impact spacecraft's extended EPOXI mission.
Chandrayaan-2, India's second lunar mission, embarked on its journey from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, with a launch aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket on July 22, 2019. By August 19, 2019, it had successfully entered lunar orbit.
However, on September 6, Chandrayaan-2 faced a setback when it released the Vikram moon lander, but mission officials lost contact with it when it was just 1.3 miles (2.1 km) above the lunar surface. Despite this unfortunate loss, the orbiter component of Chandrayaan-2 continues to operate efficiently. It carries a complement of eight distinct instruments and continues to transmit high-definition imagery of the lunar terrain back to Earth.
Chandrayaan-3 has been developed by drawing valuable insights from the previous unsuccessful landing attempt during Chandrayaan-2. Local media reported that ISRO's approach to Chandrayaan-3 involves optimizing payload configurations, enhancing the lander's capabilities, and efficiently using existing spacecraft resources. This approach is aimed at overcoming challenges encountered in past missions.
One significant change in Chandrayaan-3's mission design is the omission of an orbiter. Instead, all communication with Earth from the propulsion module, rover, and lander will be managed by Chandrayaan-2, the predecessor mission.
Furthermore, the propulsion module responsible for transporting Chandrayaan-3 to the moon will carry just a single science instrument, unlike Chandrayaan-2's orbiter, which accommodated nine instruments. This streamlined configuration simplifies the tasks of the propulsion module, enabling engineers to concentrate on its vital role in delivering the rover and lander to the lunar surface.
The lander of Chandrayaan-3 also boasts crucial enhancements. ISRO has announced that it will be equipped with two "lander hazard detection and avoidance cameras" intended to assist the lander in avoiding obstacles during its descent onto the lunar surface. In contrast, Chandrayaan-2 featured only one such camera, and the cameras on Chandrayaan-3 are expected to be more robust than those of its predecessor mission.
IndraStra Global Staff has not edited this story, which is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.

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