The ISRO formally announced on Sunday that Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to land on the moon on August 23, 2023 (Wednesday), at approximately 18:04 IST. The spacecraft is currently three days away from reaching the south pole of the moon, its intended target. India would become the fourth nation in the world to do a soft landing on the moon after the US, Russia, and China if ISRO succeeds in its mission.
Chandrayaan-3’s Historic Journey and Key Mission Details
“Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, 2023, around 18:04 Hrs. IST. Thanks for the wishes and positivity! Let’s continue experiencing the journey together,” ISRO announced on X (formerly Twitter). Live actions will available on ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV from 17:27 IST on Aug 23, 2023. The ‘Vikram’ lander module of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully disengaged from the propulsion module on Thursday. The spacecraft then completed key deboosting procedures and sank to a slightly lower orbit. The Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander bears Vikram Sarabhai’s name. Vikram Sarabhai, who lived from 1939 to 1971, is widely regarded as the founder of India’s space programme. The spacecraft was launched on August 5 into lunar orbit using a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle, and since then it has been lowered closer to the moon’s surface through a series of orbital manoeuvres. The Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation on July 14 and has remained in orbit for one month and six days. The Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, served as the launchpad for the spacecraft.
Chandrayaan-3’s Technological Marvels and Mission Objectives
In order to achieve a gentle and safe landing, Chandrayaan-3 includes a number of electronic and mechanical subsystems, including navigation sensors, propulsion systems, guidance and control, and others. Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, has as its declared goals a gentle and secure landing, lunar surface wandering, and in-situ scientific investigations. Chandrayaan-3 will cost 250 crores of rupees, launch vehicle costs not included. The development phase of Chandrayaan-3 began in January 2020, and the launch was scheduled for some time in 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, caused an unanticipated delay in the mission’s advancement. The Chandrayaan-2 mission encountered difficulties during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was ultimately determined to have failed its primary mission objectives. Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO’s follow-up attempt. The first-ever worldwide map of lunar sodium, improved understanding of crater size distribution, the unmistakable detection of lunar surface water ice with the IIRS instrument, and more are among the major scientific achievements of Chandrayaan-2.
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