About Chandrayaan-3 Mission
Chandrayaan-3 is India's third lunar
mission to achieve soft landing on the Moon's South Pole. Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) launched the Chandrayaan-3 Mission using the Geosynchronous
Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (LVM-3) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra
Pradesh, on July 14, 2023,
at 2:35 PM. Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) is one of the Spaceport of
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Space (DoS),
Government of India (GoI). Chandrayaan-3 consists of an indigenous Lander Module (LM) named Vikram,
Propulsion module (PM) and a Rover Module (RM) named Pragyan.
With the successfully soft landing of Chandrayaan-3, India became the first nation of the world to soft-land on the South Pole of Moon and overall the fourth nation (after USA, Russia and China) to do a soft landing on the moon’s surface.
Objectives of Chandrayaan-3
1.
To demonstrate Safe and Soft Landing on Lunar Surface.
2.
To demonstrate Rover roving on the moon’s surface.
3.
To conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
Landing Date and Time
Chandrayaan-3 took total 42 days from launching to landing at moon. The
Chandrayaan-3 entered
in the lunar orbit on August 5. The lander module separated from the propulsion
module on August 5. The lander Vikram landed on Moon’s South Pole successfully on August 23, 2023 at 6:05PM
(IST). The rover Pragyan started its exploration on August 24. On
August 30, the rover Pragyan
confirmed the presence of sulphur on the moon.
Significance of Moon’s South Pole
According to scientists, the South Pole of moon may
contain water. Experts believe that the craters in these regions contain fossil
records of the early planetary system. The soft landing on Moon’s South Pole is
more challenging compared to the equatorial region. There is lack of enough
sunlight and extreme cold conditions (up to -230 degrees C) at South Pole.
Cost of Chandrayaan-3
Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the estimated cost of the Chandrayaan-3 is Rs 600 crore, which is lower than the budget of some films made on the themes of space and moon. According to the former Chairman of ISRO, K Sivan, the total cost of Chandrayaan-3 is Rs. 615 crore. The cost of Lander, Rover, and Propulsion module is around Rs. 250 crore and the launch costs around Rs. 365 crore. The mission has an estimated total cost of around $75 million. Christopher Nolan's movie Interstellar, renowned for its depiction of space, had a budget of $165 million, which is more than double the budget of Chandrayaan-3. Chandrayaan-3 costs less than many other films, such as “The Martian” ($108 Million) and even the Bollywood Hindi film “Aadipurush” (estimated at $88 Million).
India’s Other Chandrayaan Missions
Chandrayaan-1 was
the first Indian lunar probe under the Chandrayaan
programme. It was launched by the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The
mission included an Orbiter and an Impactor. India launched
the spacecraft using a PSLV-XL rocket on October 22, 2008
from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The
mission was a major boost to India's space program, as India researched and
developed indigenous technology to explore the Moon. The vehicle was inserted
into lunar orbit on November 8, 2008 and the Moon Impact
Probe separated from the Chandrayaan orbiter on November 14, 2008.
Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission
developed and launched by the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO). It consists of a lunar Orbiter,
the lander: Vikram and, the Rover: Pragyan. All of which
were developed in India. The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on July 22, 2019 by a LVM3 - M1 rocket. The craft
reached the lunar orbit on August 20, 2019 and began orbiting moon for landing
of the Vikram lander. The lander and the rover were scheduled to land
on Moon’s South Pole on September 6, 2019. However, the lander crashed while
attempting to land on September 6, 2019.
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment