On July 14, the spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
23 August, New Delhi, India (ANI): India made a huge step forward on Wednesday night when the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully touched down on the moon’s South Pole, making it the first nation to accomplish the historical achievement and putting an end to the heartbreak of the Chandrayaan-2 crash landing four years earlier.
As the Vikram started its powered vertical fall towards its landing location, officials at the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru, India, cheered.
The moon is home to India. Currently present at the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When the touchdown was made while he was watching the live broadcast, he flashed a tremendous grin and waved the tricolour.
The Vikram’s countdown oscillated between 150 and 130 and 50 metres before descending to the moon’s surface and slowing down as it got closer.
It was a significant milestone in India’s space programme when the Pragyaan rover, which was carried by the Vikram lander, touched down on the surface of the moon, giving ISRO’s many years of labour a well-deserved conclusion.
India now joins the US, China, and Russia as the fourth nation to have successfully touched down on the moon’s surface. It also makes history as the first nation to do so on the moon’s southern side.
Millions of people in India and across the world are keenly following the eagerly anticipated event. more so in light of Sunday’s accident of Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft after it spun out of control.
People all around the nation prayed to God in all denominations of houses of worship in preparation for Chandrayaan-3’s expected smooth landing.
All around the nation, particularly in public institutions like schools and scientific centres, special screenings of the gentle landing were planned. The live activities were aired by ISRO and made accessible via Facebook, DD National TV, its YouTube page, and the ISRO website.
The powered descent of the Vikram lander began at 1745 IST, and Chandrayaan-3 was planned to soft land at 18:04 IST on August 23, 2023 (Wednesday).
The lander module used an inbuilt moon reference map to compare a sequence of up-close photographs from ISRO to the moon to determine its location (latitude and longitude).
Due to its advantageous geography and operational circumstances, the equatorial area of the Moon has historically been the main focus of spacecraft missions. But in contrast to the equatorial zone, the lunar south pole offers a very different and more difficult landscape.
On July 14, the spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The spacecraft was launched on August 5 into lunar orbit using a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle, and since then it has been lowered closer to the moon’s surface via a series of orbital manoeuvres.
ISRO has been claiming that the spacecraft’s health remained “normal” ever since its launch on July 14.
On August 5, Chandrayaan-3 was successfully sent into lunar orbit following a number of significant manoeuvres.
When the ‘Vikram’ lander module of the spacecraft successfully disengaged from the propulsion module on Thursday, August 17, the mission made another significant advancement in its drive for the moon. The Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander bears Vikram Sarabhai’s name. Vikram Sarabhai, who lived from 1939 to 1971, is generally recognised as the founder of India’s space effort.
The Lander module was then deboosted over the course of two stages. Deboosting is slowing down in order to get oneself in an orbit where the Moon is closest to the Earth.
India’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, had three declared goals: a gentle and secure landing on the moon’s surface, roving the moon, and conducting in-situ scientific research.
The lander and rover were to run for one lunar day after landing. 14 days on Earth are equivalent to one day on the Moon.
The development phase of Chandrayaan-3 began in January 2020, with a launch date of some time in 2021.
The Covid-19 epidemic, however, caused an unanticipated delay in the mission’s progress. Chandrayaan-3 will cost 250 crores of rupees, launch vehicle costs not included.
However, earlier this week, the ISRO successfully established two-way communication between the Chandrayaan-3 lander module and the still circling Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, making the Chandrayaan-2 mission “partially successful” despite the lander losing touch following a harsh landing.
India must be unrivalled in the application of cutting-edge technology to the actual challenges confronting society, according to Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme.
One of Vikram Sarabhai’s major successes was founding the ISRO. He was able to persuade the administration of the day of the value of a space project for a growing nation like India. (ANI)
