If Chandrayaan-3 successfully lands on the Moon’s south pole area, it will be a momentous occasion for India. No country has ever made a soft landing on the Moon’s surface. The United States, Russia, and China have all attempted soft landings on the Moon’s equatorial area.
The Indian Space Research Organization launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission one month and six days ago on July 14. The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The components of Chandrayaan-3 comprise a variety of electrical and mechanical subsystems designed to ensure a safe and smooth landing, including as navigation sensors, propulsion systems, guidance and control, and so on.
The declared goals of India’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, are a safe and soft landing, wandering on the moon’s surface, and in-situ scientific research.
The cost of Chandrayaan-3 has been approved at Rs 250 crores (without the cost of the launch vehicle).
The development phase of Chandrayaan-3 began in January 2020, with the launch scheduled for 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic caused an unanticipated delay in the mission’s development.
Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was eventually deemed to have failed its core mission objectives.
The key scientific outcomes from Chandrayaan-2 include the first-ever global map for lunar sodium, enhancing knowledge on crater size distribution, unambiguous detection of lunar surface water ice with IIRS instrument and more.
During the Chandrayaan-1 mission, the satellite made more than 3,400 orbits around the moon and the mission was concluded when the communication with the spacecraft was lost on August 29, 2009, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Significant challenges Chandrayaan-3 may now experience difficulties.
The main difficulty that Chandrayaan-3 may encounter is during the soft landing of the Lander Module.
-Because there is no atmosphere on the Moon at 100 km altitude, parachutes cannot descend gently.
-Chandrayaan-2 failed between 30 km and 100 m altitude. At this point, the lander was 2.1 kilometers from the Moon when it crashed owing to a software error that failed to control the speed during landing.
-At 100 meters altitude, the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-3 may encounter unexpected and rapid terrain changes, which may result in software malfunctions or altitude sensor mistakes.
-Lunar dust could be another issue with a soft landing. The lunar dust will erupt, posing a threat to sensor inaccuracies and premature engine shutdowns. Even as the landing speed slows, the possibility of lunar dust remains. Dust can obstruct the lander’s camera lens and cause incorrect readings.
What exactly is a soft landing?
The lunar module’s soft landing means slowing down from 6,000 km/h to zero. The Vikram lander will rotate itself to 90 degrees during soft landing to ensure a safe landing on the Moon’s surface. The lander will scan for difficulties at roughly 100 meters altitude; if none are identified, it will gradually descend, firing its engines until touchdown.
Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module gets closer to the Moon
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully decreased the orbit of the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Lander Module (LM), bringing it closer to the moon. ISRO stated that the module would go through internal checks before waiting for the sun to rise at the planned landing site. The LM, which includes the lander ‘Vikram’ and rover ‘Pragyan,’ is scheduled to settle on the lunar surface on August 23 evening.
Why is the Chandrayaan-3 mission so important to India?
The Chandrayaan-3 Mission is significant for India because the previous Chandrayaan- Mission failed four years ago. ISRO chief S. Somanath stated that his engineers thoroughly reviewed data from the previous unsuccessful mission and worked hard to remedy the flaws.
The Chandrayaan-3 Mission was built on a shoestring budget in comparison to other countries’ moon missions, yet it is swiftly approaching the benchmarks set by global space powers.
It’s particularly noteworthy because ISRO is attempting a soft landing for the Chandrayaan-3. Only three countries have undertaken this technique successfully thus far: the United States, Russia, and China.
Furthermore, assuming the remainder of the mission goes as planned, India can write a gentle landing in the Moon’s “South Polar Region.” No country has ever soft-landed an airplane to study the Moon’s south polar area.
Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft has a technical malfunction during its pre-landing maneuver.
LIVE Chandrayaan-3 updates: About Saturday, Russia reported a “abnormal situation” aboard its moon-bound Luna-25 spacecraft, which was launched earlier this month.
Roscosmos, the country’s space agency, said the spacecraft encountered unidentified problems while attempting to reach a pre-landing orbit, and that its specialists were investigating the matter.
“During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters,” Roscosmos wrote on Telegram.
Roscosmos did not say whether the mishap would preclude Luna-25 from landing.
Why was the lander named Vikram by ISRO?
LIVE Chandrayaan-3 updates: The lander on the Chandrayaan-3 mission is named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971), widely regarded as the father of India’s space program.
What is Deboosting in Chandrayaan-3?
LIVE Chandrayaan-3 updates: The second and final deboosting procedure of Chandrayaan-3 was completed successfully, according to ISRO, in the early hours of Sunday. Deboosting is the process of slowing down in order to put itself in an orbit with a closest point to the Moon (Perilune) of 30 kilometers and a farthest point (Apolune) of 100 kilometers.
The Vikram lander will touch down on the moon on August 23 at 5:45 p.m.
LIVE Chandrayaan-3 updates: According to ISRO, the powered descent would begin on August 23, 2023, about 1745 Hrs.
The final deboosting of Chandrayaan-3 was successful.
ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 has completed its final deboosting, according to live updates. “The LM orbit has been successfully reduced to 25 km x 134 km with the second and final deboosting operation.” The module would go through internal inspections before waiting for the sun to rise at the planned landing place. The powered descent is scheduled to begin on August 23, 2023, about 1745 Hrs. IST, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation.