The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Sunday released the first image of the moon taken by India’s third lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-3.
Chandrayaan-3 captured stunning images of the lunar surface after entering lunar orbit on Saturday.
“#Chandrayaan3 spacecraft as seen during its entry into Lunar Orbit (LOI) on 5th August 2023,” the mission’s official Twitter account tweeted.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which has covered about two-thirds of the distance to the moon since its launch, successfully entered lunar orbit on Saturday, according to ISRO.
The spacecraft, mounted on a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy lift vehicle, was successfully lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on July 14.
India has become the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the surface of the moon after the United States, China and Russia, demonstrating the country’s ability to safely and softly land on the surface of the moon.
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 approval cost for Chandrayaan-3 is Rs 250 crore (excluding launch vehicle cost).
The development phase of Chandrayaan-3 began in January 2020, with a launch initially planned for 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought unforeseen delays to the mission’s progress.
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.
Svlook
