India is gearing up for its next lunar exploration mission as the Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft prepares for liftoff. Stacked atop the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) rocket at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the robotic lunar lander and rover are ready to embark on their journey.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently shared photos and a video of the stacking process, generating excitement for the upcoming mission. Scheduled to launch from Satish Dhawan in the early morning of July 14, Chandrayaan 3 marks the third installment of India’s Chandrayaan lunar exploration program.
The first mission, Chandrayaan 1, made history in October 2008 by sending a moon orbiter into deep space. This orbiter included an impactor probe that successfully detected water ice just moments before intentionally crashing into the lunar surface near the south pole. NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper, onboard Chandrayaan 1, made a similar discovery, confirming the presence of water ice on the moon.
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Chandrayaan 2, launched in July 2019, aimed to land a rover and lander on the moon’s surface. Although the orbiter successfully reached its destination and continues to conduct scientific investigations, the lander-rover duo experienced a setback during the touchdown attempt due to issues with the braking thrusters. Determined to achieve a successful moon landing, India is now preparing for the Chandrayaan 3 mission.
🚀LVM3-M4/Chandrayaan-3🛰️ Mission:
Today, at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, the encapsulated assembly containing Chandrayaan-3 is mated with LVM3. pic.twitter.com/4sUxxps5Ah
— ISRO (@isro) July 5, 2023
Unlike its predecessors, Chandrayaan 3 will solely focus on landing and roving on the lunar surface, omitting the orbiter component. The lander and rover will carry six scientific instruments, enabling them to collect a wide range of data throughout one lunar day, which lasts approximately 14 Earth days. Additionally, the mission’s propulsion module will be equipped with an instrument to study Earth from a distance, contributing valuable insights for future endeavors searching for potentially habitable exoplanets.
The main objective of Chandrayaan 3 is to demonstrate India’s end-to-end capability in safely landing and roving on the moon’s surface. The successful execution of this mission would be a monumental achievement for the nation. To date, only three entities—the governments of the Soviet Union, the United States, and China—have accomplished a soft landing on the moon.
🚀LVM3-M4/Chandrayaan-3🛰️ Mission:
Early hours today, at SDSC-SHAR, the movement of the LVM3 M4 vehicle with Chandrayaan-3 to the launch pad has commenced pic.twitter.com/Oxb7arzpYr— ISRO (@isro) July 6, 2023
With the revised launch date now set for July 14, excitement and anticipation continue to build as India prepares to embark on another lunar exploration endeavor. Chandrayaan 3 represents a significant step forward for India’s space program and contributes to humanity’s ever-growing understanding of our celestial neighbor, the moon.
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