India’s Chandrayaan-3 Moon Mission: A Successful Second Attempt at Lunar Landing
In 2019, India attempted its most ambitious lunar mission to date with Chandrayaan-2. The mission aimed to soft-land a rover on the Moon’s south pole and conduct new science experiments. However, the lander component crashed during its descent, ending the mission prematurely. Now, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully developed and launched Chandrayaan-3 to demonstrate a soft lunar landing.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched on 14 July 2023 aboard India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-III rocket. After a flawless launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Chandrayaan-3 traveled for over a month before entering lunar orbit. On 23 August 2023 at 6:04 pm IST, the Vikram-3 lander successfully soft-landed on the lunar surface near the south pole in the Manzinus C crater region. This marks India’s first successful soft landing on the Moon.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission Overview
Chandrayaan-3 consists of a lander called Vikram-3 and a rover called Pragyan. The mission was developed with lessons learned from Chandrayaan-2. The new lander design is more robust and stable, and the landing site was shifted to avoid hazardous terrain.
After achieving lunar orbit on 20 August, Vikram-3 executed several complex orbital maneuvers to lower its altitude. It made its powered descent on 23 August, gently touching down on the lunar surface as planned. Communication signals confirming the successful landing were received at mission control to resounding applause.
The Pragyan rover will soon roll out from Vikram-3 to begin its mission exploring the lunar surface and carrying out science experiments. Chandrayaan-3 will demonstrate key technologies for future missions and conduct new science investigations to expand our understanding of the Moon.
Smooth Landing on Lunar Surface
The landing site for Chandrayaan-3 is a relatively flat highland region in the Manzinus C crater on the southern hemisphere of the Moon. This avoided the issues faced during Vikram’s troubled descent on Chandrayaan-2, when it attempted to land in a hazardous region rife with craters and uneven terrain.
The redesigned Vikram-3 lander performed excellently, with its four landing legs, improved altitude sensors, and upgraded thrust control on its engines. It made a smooth vertical descent, gently settling down on the lunar surface at about 6 km per hour vertical velocity. The successful soft landing is a major accomplishment for ISRO.
Key Scientific Investigations
The Chandrayaan-3 rover Pragyan will now roll out onto the lunar surface from Vikram-3. It will operate for one lunar day, the equivalent of 14 Earth days. Pragyan carries two science payloads – an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer and a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope.
These payloads will measure the elemental composition and mineralogy of the landing site surroundings. This data will help characterize the surface geology and chemical properties of the Moon’s south polar regions.
In addition, Vikram-3 itself carries three major science experiments. The Impact Probe detached during landing to penetrate the lunar regolith and study subsurface structure. The Seismometer will measure moonquakes and seismic activity for the first time. And the Thermal Probe will measure heat flow from the lunar interior.
Path Forward for ISRO
The success of Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing is a major achievement for ISRO and India’s space program. This milestone will reinvigorate ISRO’s robotic lunar exploration plans, including the approved Chandrayaan-4 rover mission and proposed Chandrayaan-5 orbiter-lander-rover mission.
Chandrayaan-3 proves India now has the specialized lunar landing capability required for future missions. The lander and rover technologies can be further developed for more complex manned Moon missions in the future.
ISRO also aims to eventually set up a lunar base through global partnerships. The science and technology demonstrated on Chandrayaan-3 will pave the way towards a sustained Indian presence on the Moon.
Some of the key people behind the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission are:
- S Somnath, the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the chief architect of the mission. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and IISc Bangalore.
- M Sankaran, the project director of Chandrayaan-3 and a senior scientist at VSSC. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and Bharathidasan University.
- Dr V Narayanan, the director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) and the head of the propulsion system for Chandrayaan-3. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and IISc Bangalore.
- Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair, the director of Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) and the head of the lander system for Chandrayaan-3. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and IISc Bangalore.
- P Veeramuthuvel, the project director of Chandrayaan-3 Orbiter and a senior scientist at ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC). He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and Bharathiar University.
