Chandrayaan-3 is the third and most recent lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It consists of a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan, similar to Chandrayaan-2, but does not have an orbiter.
The mission was launched on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. It entered lunar orbit on August 1, 2023, and landed on the surface of the Moon on August 23, 2023.
The lander Vikram was successfully soft-landed on the Moon’s south pole, making India the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon. The rover Pragyan then rolled off the lander and began its mission to explore the lunar surface.
The mission’s primary objectives are to:
- Conduct a soft landing on the Moon’s south pole
- Deploy the Pragyan rover to explore the lunar surface
- Conduct scientific experiments to study the Moon’s geology, mineralogy, and atmosphere
- Demonstrate new technologies for future lunar missions
Chandrayaan-3 is a major milestone in India’s space program and a testament to the country’s growing technological prowess. The mission is expected to yield valuable scientific data that will help us better understand the Moon and its potential for future exploration.
Here are some of the key scientific experiments that will be conducted by Chandrayaan-3:
- The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) will map the elemental composition of the lunar surface.
- The Chandrayaan-3 Surface Thermo conductivity Probe (COSTP) will measure the thermal conductivity of the lunar surface.
- The Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) will measure the distance between the Moon and Earth.
- The Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) will take high-resolution images of the Moon’s surface.
- The Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) will map the topography of the lunar surface.
The main objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are to:
- Land on the Moon’s south pole
- Conduct scientific experiments on the lunar surface
- Explore the Moon’s resources
- Prepare for future human missions to the Moon
The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 is a major milestone for India’s space program. It demonstrates India’s ability to soft-land on the Moon and paves the way for future missions to the lunar surface.
Here are some of the key highlights of the Chandrayaan-3 mission:
- The mission was launched on July 14, 2023, at 2:35 PM IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.
- The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on August 1, 2023.
- The lander Vikram successfully landed on the Moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023.
- The rover Pragyan successfully deployed from the lander and began exploring the lunar surface.
- The mission is expected to last for one lunar day, which is about 14 Earth days.
- The mission has successfully achieved all of its major objectives.