The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on July 14 by a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift rocket. two-thirds of the moon’s distance.
“The spacecraft has gone about two-thirds of the way to the Moon. Lunar Orbital Injection (LOI) is scheduled for 5 August 2023, around 19:00 GMT,” the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) tweeted on Friday. wrote.
Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission, will make India the fourth country after the United States, China and Russia to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface and demonstrate the country’s ability to safely and softly land on the lunar surface.
The spacecraft was successfully launched on LVM-3 on July 14, 2023 at 2:35 pm (UTC). The spacecraft is currently undergoing a series of orbital maneuvers with the goal of reaching lunar orbit.
From the date of launch, Chandrayaan-3 will take nearly 33 days to reach lunar orbit. After landing, it will run for one lunar day, which is about 14 Earth days. 1 day on the Moon is equivalent to 14 days on Earth.
The Chandrayaan-3 assembly includes various electronic and mechanical subsystems designed to ensure a safe and soft landing, such as navigation sensors, propulsion systems, guidance and control, and more. Additionally, there are mechanisms for releasing the rover, antennas associated with two-way communications, and other onboard electronics.
The stated goals of Chandrayaan-3 are safe soft landing, lunar surface roaming, and in situ scientific experiments.
The approval cost for Chandrayaan-3 is Rs. 2.5 billion rupees (excluding launch vehicle cost).
The development phase of Chandrayaan-3 began in January 2020, with a planned launch sometime in 2021. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unforeseen delays to the mission schedule.
Chandrayaan-3 is ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the 2019 Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during a soft landing on the lunar surface and was ultimately deemed to have failed to achieve its core mission objectives.
Major scientific achievements of Chandrayaan-2 include the first global map of lunar sodium, enhanced understanding of the size distribution of craters, and definitive detection of water ice on the lunar surface using the IIRS instrument. The mission was featured in nearly 50 publications.
The moon is a treasure trove of Earth’s past, and a successful Indian mission to the moon will help enhance life on Earth while also allowing it to explore other parts of the solar system and beyond.
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