Chandrayaan-3 lands on Moon: The much-anticipated Chandrayaan-3 project made history by successfully landing the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram Lander on the Moon, making India the first country in the world to land a spacecraft on the lunar South Pole.
After the Vikram began its powered vertical fall towards its landing site, officials at India’s space agency’s headquarters in Bengaluru erupted in cheers.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) congratulated India, writing on Twitter, “Chandrayaan-3 Mission:India, I reached my destination and you too!’: Chandrayaan-3”
“India is on the moon!” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in Johannesburg for the 15th BRICS Summit, stated. He was watching the live telecast and raised the tricolour as soon as the touchdown was announced.
The Vikram’s countdown began at 150 metres, then 130 metres, 50 metres, and then decelerated as it reached the moon’s crust before ultimately coming down on the lunar surface.
The landing of the Vikram lander, carrying the Pragyaan rover in its belly, was a huge milestone in India’s spacefaring voyage, delivering a well-deserved conclusion to ISRO’s many years of toil.
When was the launch of Chandrayaan-3?
On July 14, the spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was utilised to send the spacecraft in lunar orbit on August 5, and it has subsequently been lowered closer to the moon’s surface through a series of orbital manoeuvres.
Who are the names of the Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover?
The lander on the Chandrayaan-3 mission is named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971), widely regarded as the father of India’s space programmes. Last week, India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission’s ‘Vikram’ lander module successfully disengaged from the propulsion module, and the spacecraft then conducted vital deboosting procedures and dropped to a slightly lower orbit.
The United States is the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon
Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission, makes India the fourth country after the United States, China, and Russia to land a spacecraft on the moon’s surface and demonstrate the country’s abilities for safe and soft landings.
#WATCH | "No country has reached there (the South Pole of the moon) before. With the hard work of our scientists we have reached there," says PM Modi on the soft landing of ISRO's third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 on the moon pic.twitter.com/XSLCqzcWZT
— ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2023
What makes up Chandrayaan-3?
The Moon is a repository of Earth’s past, and a successful lunar mission by India will help to improve life on Earth while also allowing it to explore the rest of the solar system and beyond.
Navigation sensors, propulsion systems, guidance and control, and other electrical and mechanical subsystems are among the Chandrayaan-3 components that assure a safe and smooth landing. There are other mechanisms for Rover release, two-way communication antennas, and other onboard electronics.
The declared goals of Chandrayaan-3 include a safe and soft landing, wandering on the moon’s surface, and conducting in-situ scientific investigations.
