India’s Chandrayaan-3 Launches to Resume Moon Mission: Latest Updates
India is once again embarking on a lunar exploration journey as Chandrayaan-3, the country’s ambitious moon mission, takes flight from Sriharikota, off the East Coast. This mission comes as a significant effort to rectify the previous unsuccessful landing on the moon nearly four years ago.
Chandrayaan-3 assumes its place amidst a global resurgence in lunar exploration. Both the United States and China are actively planning to send astronauts to the moon in the near future, while Russia, Japan, and the United States have scheduled several robotic missions to the moon for this year and the next.
If the robotic lander and rover aboard Chandrayaan-3 accomplish a successful landing, it will be a remarkable achievement unmatched by any country in this century, except for China. This accomplishment adds to India’s national pride and showcases the country’s indigenous space program. Furthermore, India’s space industry is witnessing the emergence of commercial space start-ups, reflecting the growing interest and potential in the sector.
Last month, India and the United States reached an agreement to undertake a joint mission to the International Space Station in the upcoming year. Additionally, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India’s equivalent of NASA, is actively developing its own spacecraft for manned orbital missions.
At 2:35 p.m. local time (5:05 a.m. Eastern time) on Friday, the Launch Vehicle Mark III rocket lifted off from the Indian space base near Chennai. The launch was met with enthusiasm as crowds, waving Indian flags and colorful umbrellas, cheered on. Sixteen minutes later, the spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket’s upper stage, igniting a round of applause and jubilation in the mission control center.
Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State for India’s Ministry of Science and Technology, expressed the nation’s pride, stating, “It is indeed a moment of glory for India and a moment of destiny for all of us here at Sriharikota who are part of this history in the making.”
Over the following weeks, the spacecraft will perform a series of engine firings to extend its orbit before setting course for the moon. A landing attempt is scheduled for August 23 or 24, coinciding with the sunrise at the designated landing site in the moon’s south polar region. Achieving a successful landing on the moon remains a challenging endeavor, as many space missions have encountered difficulties in the past.
Chandrayaan, which means “moon craft” in Hindi, began with the launch of Chandrayaan-1, an orbiter, in 2008, and continued with the Chandrayaan-2 mission that successfully entered lunar orbit on July 22, 2019. However, the subsequent landing attempt on September 6, 2019, deviated from its planned trajectory during the final descent due to unforeseen factors.
Chandrayaan-3 retains a similar lander design with notable enhancements such as stronger landing legs, increased propellant capacity, additional solar cells for energy generation, and improved altitude sensors. Software modifications have also been implemented to allow the spacecraft to maneuver more efficiently, and the permitted landing area has been expanded.
Once on the moon, the lander and rover will utilize a range of instruments to conduct thermal, seismic, and mineralogical measurements of the lunar surface. The mission is expected to conclude two weeks after the landing, coinciding with sunset on the solar-powered lander and rover. In the event of any issues during Chandrayaan-3’s lunar orbit, the landing could be postponed until September to ensure a full two weeks of surface operation during daylight.
While the scientific community eagerly anticipates the valuable lunar data that Chandrayaan-3 will gather, India’s pursuit of space exploration is driven by a sense of national pride. Similar to previous achievements such as the successful insertion of the Mangalyaan spacecraft into Mars orbit in 2014, the country celebrates these accomplishments as symbols of its capabilities as a nation.
As India looks forward to future space endeavors, the Indian space agency has plans underway for the development of Gaganyaan, a spacecraft intended for manned missions to orbit. Additionally, India is strengthening its collaboration with the United States in various space missions, including joint efforts to the International Space Station and signing the Artemis Accords for civil space exploration guidelines. The nation is also involved in the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission (NISAR), scheduled for launch in 2024, which aims to monitor changes in Earth’s land and ice surfaces.
India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission sets a new chapter in the nation’s space exploration history, contributing to global efforts in lunar exploration. As other countries prepare for their upcoming moon missions, India’s journey to the moon continues to captivate the imagination and aspirations of space enthusiasts worldwide.
Mission successful