The lander module of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is orbiting at a distance of just 25 to 150 kilometers from the lunar surface. According to ISRO, the second and final deboosting maneuver of Chandrayaan-3 has been successfully done and now the wait is on August 23, when India will create history with a soft landing on the lunar surface and will become the fourth country in the world to do so.
So far only America, Russia and China have succeeded in soft landing on the lunar surface. Not only this, India can be the first country to make a successful landing on the south pole of the moon.
What is the information about the South Pole?
Credit: Google
Of special interest to scientists is the south pole of the Moon, which is believed to have craters that are always dark and expected to contain water. Frozen water in rocks can be used in the future as air for astronauts and fuel for rockets.
Only three countries have been able to perform a successful ‘soft landing’ on the Moon, including the erstwhile Soviet Union, the US and China. However, these three countries also did not land on the south pole of the Moon.
Know where and how you will be able to watch the live telecast of landing!
According to ISRO, India will achieve a historic milestone in space exploration through Chandrayaan-3 mission. It said the achievement is a significant step towards Indian science, engineering, technology and industry, showcasing the nation’s progress in space exploration.
The much-awaited event will be telecast live on television on August 23, starting at 5:27 PM on multiple platforms including ISRO’s website, its YouTube channel, ISRO’s Facebook page, and DD (Doordarshan) National TV channel.
How has been the journey of Chandrayaan-3 so far?
Credit: Google
Chandrayaan-3 entered the Moon’s orbit on August 5 after its launch on July 14. Low-orbit maneuvers were carried out on August 6, 9, 14 and 16 to bring it closer to the lunar surface, before separating the propulsion and lander modules.
Earlier, in more than five procedures in the last three weeks after the July 14 launch, ISRO had boosted Chandrayaan-3 into further orbits away from Earth. On August 1, in an important exercise, the spacecraft was successfully sent from the Earth’s orbit towards the Moon.
Vikram Lander will land on the moon at this time
ISRO says that the lander module consisting of lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan) is expected to land on the lunar surface on August 23 at 6.04 pm. Earlier, ISRO had said that the module will land on the lunar surface on August 23 at 5.47 pm.
At the same time, Luna-25 was to land on the lunar surface on August 21, two days before Vikram’s landing.
ISRO released the first pictures taken from Vikram Lander
ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission is in its final stage. Earlier Vikram Lander has taken some pictures of the far side of the moon. These have been shared by ISRO on Twitter on Monday morning.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
Here are the images of
Lunar far side area
captured by the
Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC).This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area — without boulders or deep trenches — during the descent is developed by ISRO… pic.twitter.com/rwWhrNFhHB
— ISRO (@isro) August 21, 2023