Chandrayaan 3 moon landing on screen at ISRO, India’s national space agency
India became the fourth country to successfully land an intact spacecraft on the Moon, with the Chandrayaan 3 mission landing safely near the South Pole of the Moon today at 12:32 GMT. It was also the first country to explore the polar regions, where water can be abundant.
of Indian Space Research OrganizationChandrayaan 3, which means “moon ship” in Sanskrit, took off on July 14 from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh aboard a launch vehicle Mark III rocket and traveled approximately 380,000 kilometers in six weeks. en route to the moon.
ISRO said in a tweet that the landing had taken place 40 days, 3 hours and 29 minutes after launch.
The mission will place the Vikram lander where water is found, potentially allowing the construction of a permanent base on the moon.
Chandrayaan-3 slowed down in orbit and briefly came to rest at 150 meters above the surface. It then descended slowly and successfully landed. “India is on the moon now,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking remotely with air traffic controllers.
“My friends, on this joyful occasion, I would like to address the people of the whole world, of all countries and regions,” Modi said. “The success of India’s lunar mission is not just India’s. This success belongs to all of humanity and will help other nations explore the moon in the future. I am confident that every country in the world, including the United States, can achieve such a feat.We can all aim for the moon and beyond.”
Sri M. Sankaran“Today, we have achieved the goal that we set out to achieve in 2019. We are almost four years late, but we have achieved it,” said ISRO’s Director of the UR Lao Satellite Center. He said India is considering sending humans into space and sending spacecraft to Mars in the future.
![Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) officials celebrate the moon landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission on August 23.](https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/23152208/SEI_168562120.jpg?width=1200)
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) officials celebrate the moon landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission on August 23.
Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images
The previous Chandrayaan-2 mission failed in 2019 when a software glitch caused the Vikram lander to crash into the moon. It was destroyed along with a six-wheeled rover named Pragyan, which was to explore the lunar south pole.
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. India’s latest mission aims to make a soft landing to conduct scientific research.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
“India 🇮🇳,
Arrived at destination
you too! ‘
: Chandrayaan-3Chandrayaan 3 was a success
Soft landing on the moon🌖!Congratulations India 🇮🇳!#chandrayaan_3#Ch3
— Isro (@isro) August 23, 2023
Chandrayaan 3 is a repeat of the Chandrayaan 2 mission, but without an orbiter. Instead, the Vikram lander and rover will independently handle communication with Earth, without the need for intermediate satellites. Once released, the rover is expected to survive in the harsh lunar environment for only two weeks.
Until now, 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. Russia’s latest attempt at lunar exploration—the first in nearly half a century—also ended in disaster earlier this week.
The Luna 25 lander was supposed to make a gentle landing, but it appears that a brief engine fire to reposition it slammed into the ground at breakneck speed, lasting too long and “disappearing,” Russia said. released by the space agency. Published by Roscosmos.
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