Sriharikota, 14 July, 2023 (GNP): The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), is gearing up to embark on an ambitious unmanned mission to the moon’s south pole with Chandrayaan-3. This mission follows a previous attempt in 2019 that aimed to soft-land a rover on the lunar surface but encountered a software glitch, resulting in a crash, India’s space agency said.
Chandrayaan-3, named after the Sanskrit term for “moon craft,” aims to achieve a successful landing and make India the fourth country to accomplish this feat.
Chandrayaan-3 mission:
The ‘Launch Rehearsal’ simulating the entire launch preparation and process lasting 24 hours has been concluded.Mission brochure: https://t.co/cCnH05sPcW pic.twitter.com/oqV1TYux8V
— ISRO (@isro) July 11, 2023
The upcoming mission will consist of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, all set to take off from the Sriharikota launch pad in southern India. The spacecraft will undergo a month-long journey before landing on the moon’s surface in August, a statement form ISRO said.
The six-wheeled lander and rover module of Chandrayaan-3 are equipped with payloads designed to provide valuable data to the scientific community regarding the properties of lunar soil and rocks, including chemical and elemental compositions, said Dr Jitendra Singh, the junior minister for science and technology.
Singh highlighted the mission’s objectives, emphasizing the scientific significance of understanding the lunar surface. India’s space program aims to explore the moon’s little-explored south pole, where water deposits are believed to exist in permanently shadowed craters. The findings from this mission will contribute to humanity’s understanding of the moon’s geological composition.
ISRO Director Sreedhara Panicker Somanath expressed confidence in the mission’s success, with a primary focus on achieving a safe and soft landing on the moon. As India continues to emerge as the fifth-largest economy in the world, the government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is eager to showcase the country’s technological advancements and scientific prowess.
India’s space program has already made significant contributions to various sectors, including satellite development, communication technologies, remote sensing, and water resource management. The knowledge gained from space research has helped India address domestic challenges such as predicting weather patterns, gauging underground water levels, and bolstering national security.
The successful execution of Chandrayaan-3 will mark another milestone for India’s space program and propel the country further in its pursuit of space exploration. India’s ambitions extend beyond the moon, with plans to send its first astronaut to the International Space Station in collaboration with the United States next year as part of agreements between Modi and the US president, Joe Biden, at the White House last month.
This endeavor, along with India’s plans to launch an Indian astronaut from Indian soil by 2024, demonstrates the nation’s commitment to advancing space exploration and technology, said Pallava Bagla, a science writer and co-author of books on India’s space exploration.
Based on current growth projections, Singh envisions India’s space sector becoming a trillion-dollar economy in the near future. Furthermore, ISRO’s track record of successful satellite launches for various countries underscores India’s reputation as a reliable and capable space partner.