Chandrayaan-3 Successfully Launched Into Orbit, PM Modi Hails ISRO; All Eyes On Soft Landing On Moon
India’s Chandrayaan-3, the country’s third lunar mission, has successfully launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. If the mission is successful, India will become the fourth country to achieve a controlled landing on the moon, joining Russia, the United States, and China. The launch was hailed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a significant milestone in India’s space exploration, elevating the dreams and ambitions of every Indian.
Chandrayaan-3 consists of a lander, a rover named Pragyan, and a propulsion module. It will utilize the Orbiter from the previous Chandrayaan-2 mission, which is still operational in the lunar orbit. Notably, the lander Vikram will attempt a soft landing in the South Pole of the moon, an area where water molecules were discovered during India’s first moon mission in 2008.
The spacecraft’s journey from Earth to the moon is estimated to take approximately a month, with the expected landing date on August 23. Upon landing, the rover Pragyan will be deployed to conduct scientific experiments on the lunar surface for one lunar day, equivalent to about 29 Earth days.
Chandrayaan-3 marks India’s renewed efforts in lunar exploration after the setback of Chandrayaan-2’s failed landing attempt in 2019. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has incorporated improvements and addressed the off-nominal conditions that hindered the previous mission’s safe landing.
Overall, Chandrayaan-3 represents an important step for India’s space program, aiming to expand scientific knowledge and further explore the moon’s resources, particularly in the context of the South Pole’s water molecules.
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