August 23
Bengaluru
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s third mission to the moon – the Chandrayaan 3 was launched on the 14th of July. The mission has successfully met its scheduled milestones till date, reaching the lunar orbit and ready to make a soft landing with its Vikram lander today.
Meanwhile, let us take a look at the previous Chandrayaan missions. India’s first lunar mission – Chandrayaan 1, was launched in 2008. With this, India became the fourth nation to plant its flag on the surface of the moon. However, this was achieved without landing, through a Moon Impact Probe.
The task of the Moon Impact Probe was to collect and transmit information about the moon’s atmosphere and its surface. The suggestion to include a probe along with the moon orbiter was given by the former president of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
The first Chandrayaan’s most important achievement was that it was able to confirm the presence of water ice on the lunar surface.
Almost a decade after the launch of the first Chandrayaan, ISRO launched Chandrayaan 2 on the 22nd of July 2019. Chandrayaan 2 included an orbiter, a lander and a rover. According to ISRO, Chandrayaan 2 was a highly complex mission which was a significant technological leap compared to its previous missions. All was well till the Vikram lander separated from orbiter and descended up to an altitude of 2.1 km while attempting the soft landing. After this point, communication from the lander to the ground stations was lost. But the orbiter continued its functions and has lasted longer than its expected tenure.
On July 14, 2023, ISRO launched Chandrayaan 3 from Shriharikota. It achieved the crucial milestone of Lunar Orbit Insertion on August 5th. Since then, ISRO has been gradually reducing the orbit to position it over the moon’s poles. The mission is expected to achieve a soft landing in the South Polar Region of the Moon at 6.04 PM today.
People all over India and abroad have been wishing ISRO a success in its third mission to the Moon. Many have been praying as they watch ISRO’s tracking of the mission closely with hope and confidence. ISRO scientist need immense support and encouragement for their relentless efforts to make take India’s space programme to greater heights and, of course, softer landings.
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