Chandrayaan-3 mission update: Landing date, time officially announced
Chandrayaan-3 mission update: The ISRO officially announced on Sunday that Chandrayaan-3 will descend on the moon on August 23, 2023 (Wednesday), around 18:04 IST. The spacecraft is now only three days away from its final destination, the south pole of the moon.
ISRO is working toward a successful soft landing on the moon, which would place India fourth in the world after the United States, Russia, and China.
“Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, 2023, around 18:04 Hrs. IST. Thanks for the wishes and positivity! Let’s continue experiencing the journey together,” ISRO announced on X.
From 17:27 IST on August 23, 2023, live actions will be available on the ISRO website, YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV.
The 'Vikram' lander module of India's Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully separated from the propulsion module on Thursday, and the spacecraft then completed critical deboosting manoeuvres and descended to a slightly lower orbit.
The lander on the Chandrayaan-3 mission is named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971), widely regarded as the father of India's space program.
A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used to deploy the spacecraft in lunar orbit on August 5, and it has subsequently been lowered closer to the moon's surface through a series of orbital manoeuvres.
The Indian Space Research Organization launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission one month and six days ago on July 14. The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The components of Chandrayaan-3 comprise a variety of electrical and mechanical subsystems designed to ensure a safe and smooth landing, including navigation sensors, propulsion systems, guidance and control, and so on.
The stated objectives of India's third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, are a safe and soft landing, rover roving on the moon's surface, and in-situ scientific research.
The cost of Chandrayaan-3 has been approved at Rs 250 crores (without the cost of the launch vehicle).
The development phase of Chandrayaan-3 began in January 2020, with the launch scheduled for 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic caused an unanticipated delay in the mission's advancement.
The ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission is the follow-up to the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which had difficulties during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was ultimately deemed to have failed its key mission objectives.
The first-ever worldwide map of lunar sodium, improved knowledge of crater size distribution, unambiguous detection of lunar surface water ice with the IIRS instrument, and more are among the significant scientific outcomes of Chandrayaan-2.
According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the satellite conducted more than 3,400 orbits around the moon during the Chandrayaan-1 mission, which ended after communication with the spacecraft was lost on August 29, 2009.
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- With inputs from agencies
