Chandrayaan 3 on its way to the moon
ISRO official
India has successfully launched Chandrayaan 3, its latest mission to the moon. The spacecraft is designed to explore the lunar south pole, which contains water reserves that could help create a permanent lunar base.
The Indian Space Research Organization’s Chandrayaan 3, which means ‘moon ship’ in Sanskrit, took off from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh aboard a Mark-III rocket at 2:35 p.m. local time on July 14. .
The previous Chandrayaan-2 mission failed in 2019 when a software glitch caused the lander to crash into the lunar surface. The Vikram lander that carried out that mission was supposed to deploy a six-wheeled rover named Pragyan to explore the lunar south pole, but both were destroyed on impact.
An early Chandrayaan-1 mission consisted of a lunar orbiter and a probe designed to intentionally crash into the moon at high speed, again targeting Antarctica. The mission was a success, making India the fourth country on Earth to leave its flag on the moon.
To date, only the United States, the Soviet Union, and China have successfully landed on the moon unscathed. In April, a Japanese start-up company tried it privately, but it also crashed into the ground at a tremendous speed and ended in failure.
Chandrayaan-3 will be a repeat of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, There will be no orbiter this time around, instead the lander and on-board rover will independently handle communications with Earth without the need for intermediate satellites. The mission is scheduled to arrive on the Moon on August 23rd or 24th. According to officials. The lander will then separate and deorbit toward the lunar surface. Once released, the rover is expected to survive only two weeks in the harsh lunar environment.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on twitter: “As far as India’s space sector is concerned, 4th July 2023 will always be marked in golden letters. This magnificent mission will carry our country’s hopes and dreams.”
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