What is Chandrayaan-3?

Chandrayaan-3 marks India’s third Lunar mission, conducted by ISRO, the country’s space agency. The primary objective is to successfully land a rover and lander on the surface of the Moon, enabling their operation for approximately one lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days. The compact 26-kilogram (57-pound) rover will be transported to the Moon within the lander. Both vehicles are equipped with scientific instruments to facilitate surface exploration and study.

The design of the Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover closely resembles that of the previous Chandrayaan-2 mission. In September 2019, the Chandrayaan-2 mission’s Vikram lander successfully descended to a point within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the lunar surface, entering a “fine braking” phase that aimed to softly land it. The objective of both missions was to explore the Moon’s south polar region, known for its presence of ice within perpetually shadowed craters.

Regrettably, a software malfunction caused the Vikram lander to deviate from its intended trajectory, resulting in a loss of contact with ISRO officials. Subsequently, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter detected debris from the lander scattered approximately 750 meters (half a mile) away from the designated landing site.

However, the Chandrayaan-2 mission was not a complete failure. It included an orbiter that continues to conduct lunar observations from orbit. The orbiter is equipped with instruments, including capabilities to search for water ice.

Having identified the cause of the Vikram lander’s failure, ISRO has upgraded the lander’s software and conducted extensive testing to ensure the success of Chandrayaan-3. Unlike its predecessor, Chandrayaan-3 does not feature an orbiter. However, the propulsion module responsible for transporting the lander to lunar orbit is equipped with a scientific instrument designed to observe Earth as if it were an exoplanet, generating data for future exoplanet studies.

How Will Chandrayaan-3 Get to the Lunar Surface?

The process of deploying Chandrayaan-3 to the lunar surface will span approximately 40 days, starting from liftoff to touchdown.

The mission was initiated on July 14, with the spacecraft launched aboard India’s LVM3 rocket. This heavy lift vehicle has the capability to transport approximately 8 metric tons to low-Earth orbit, in comparison to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which can carry nearly 23 metric tons to the same orbit.

The LVM3 will place the spacecraft and its attached propulsion module into an elongated Earth orbit with a high point, known as apogee, at around 36,500 kilometers (22,700 miles) above the planet’s surface. The propulsion module will subsequently undergo several orbit-raising maneuvers before transitioning into lunar orbit.

Upon reaching the Moon, the propulsion module will gradually lower Chandrayaan-3’s orbit to a circular trajectory of 100 kilometers (62 miles) in altitude. At this point, the lander and the propulsion module will separate, allowing the lander to initiate its descent and touch down in the Moon’s south polar region. The landing process aims for a vertical speed of less than 2 meters per second and a horizontal speed of 0.5 meters per second (approximately 6.5 and 1.6 feet per second, respectively).

What Will Chandrayaan-3 Do on the Moon?

Achieving a successful touchdown would be a significant milestone for ISRO, placing them among the select group of nations that have successfully landed spacecraft on celestial bodies beyond Earth. Beyond this noteworthy accomplishment, Chandrayaan-3 carries a range of technologies to demonstrate and scientific investigations to conduct.

Following the landing, one side panel of the Chandrayaan-3 lander will unfold, creating a ramp for the rover. The rover will then exit from the lander’s compartment, traverse down the ramp, and embark on its exploration of the lunar environment.

Both the lander and rover are powered by solar energy and will have approximately two weeks to conduct their investigations. However, they are not designed to endure the harsh and frigid lunar nights. Communication is established between the rover and the lander, which serves as the direct link to Earth. Additionally, ISRO mentions that the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter can serve as a contingency communications relay if needed.

The Rover Has Two Payloads:

• The Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is utilized to analyze the chemical and mineralogical composition of the lunar surface. 

• The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is employed to determine the elemental composition of the surface. ISRO has highlighted specific elements, including magnesium, aluminum, silicon, potassium, calcium, titanium, and iron, that the rover will specifically target and investigate.

The Lander Has Four Payloads:

• The Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) instrument is employed to monitor changes in the local gas and plasma environment over time.

• Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) investigates the thermal properties of the lunar surface.

• The Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) measures seismic activity at the landing site to analyze the structure of the subsurface crust and mantle.

• The Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA), provided by NASA, enables lunar ranging studies. It functions as a retroreflector, allowing for the measurement of distances by bouncing laser signals off its surface. NASA continues to utilize retroreflectors left behind during the Apollo program to determine the distance to the Moon.

Chandrayaan-3 Successful Lift-off and Latest Updates from ISRO

Here are the latest updates on the live launch of Chandrayaan-3 mission conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The successful lift-off took place at 2.35 PM IST on Friday, July 14, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Building upon the achievements of Chandrayaan-2, this mission aims to demonstrate various capabilities, including reaching the lunar orbit, achieving a soft landing on the lunar surface using a lander, and deploying a rover to study the Moon’s surface.

Sixteen minutes after lift-off, the propulsion module separated from the rocket and entered an elliptical orbit around the Earth, which will encompass approximately 5-6 cycles with a closest distance of 170 km and a farthest distance of 36,500 km from Earth as it moves towards the lunar orbit.

What is the Present Orbital Position of Chandrayaan-3?

ISRO executed the second orbit-raising maneuver, known as the Earth-bound apogee firing, successfully on Monday.

The spacecraft is currently positioned in an orbit of 41603 km x 226 km. The next firing is scheduled for Tuesday, between 2 and 3 pm.

The second orbit-raising maneuver of the Chandrayaan-3 mission was successfully carried out by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the second time.

The post Latest Updates: India Makes History Successfully Launches the Chandrayaan 3 Mission first appeared on Business d'Or.