Chandrayaan 3 Successful Moon Landing Mission: Everything You Need To Know!

On August 23, 2023, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) tweeted, “I reached my destination, and you too! Chandrayaan-3”. This tweet marked the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan 3–India’s third lunar exploration mission. India became the fourth nation to land on the moon and the first nation to land on the moon’s south pole.

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “All the people of the world, the people of every country and region: India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone … this success belongs to all of humanity,” who was connected with ISRO through live stream.

But where did it all start? What about the earlier moon missions?

This article will cover how the successful Indian moon mission came with a mix of failures and improvements over the past few years.

The Beginning: Chandrayaan–1

India’s moon missions started with the first lunar mission called Chandrayaan-1. In October 2008, India launched its first successful moon mission, and on November 8, 2008, Chandrayaan–1 finally entered the moon’s orbit.

India’s first lunar probe closely studied the moon with the help of various instruments. The primary objective was to discover water on the moon’s surface, which they did. Many countries were speculating about the presence of water on the moon and the moon’s future ability to inhabit humans. To achieve this, NASA pitched in and got to fly two of its water-hunting machines.

The European Space Agency also collaborated with India and provided them with SARA. This instrument helped estimate the amount and distribution of water locked in the soil on the moon’s surface.

Chandrayaan 3 Successful Moon Landing Mission: Everything You Need To Know!

An interesting fact about water on the moon is that it is found in abundance on the two poles of the moon, as seen in the picture below. The blue indicates H2O and OH.

Interestingly enough, before Chandrayaan-1 was launched, then Indian President Mr. APJ Abdul Kalam suggested that since everyone is putting flags on the mountains they climb, why shouldn’t India also leave something as a symbol on the surface of the moon?

This suggestion changed the perspective of ISRO’s scientists, and they designed a Moon Impact Probe (MIP), which successfully landed in 2008 on the surface of the moon. It was designed to test future landing systems, and it helped discover water on the moon’s surface.

What was the Impact of Chandrayaan-1?

India’s successful lunar mission not only gained international recognition but also piqued the interest of scientists all over the globe. Everyone wishes to explore the and explore the future possibility of inhabiting the moon with human settlements. NASA’s Artemis plan also aims to land humans on the moon in order to look out for sustainable living on the lunar surface.

Chandrayan–1 was a total success, but India has also seen both sides of the coin. It has also endured failure in lunar missions. Chandrayaan-2 was not a total failure, but it lost signal before landing.

Not a Complete Failure: Chandrayaan-2

In July 2019, India launched its second moon mission called Chandrayaan–2. This complex mission aimed to send an orbiter, a lander, and a rover to the surface of the moon. The lander Vikam, however, lost communication with ISRO just 2 km before landing, started deviating, and hard landed on the surface instead of soft landing. This mission was not successful as the central objective of the spacecraft was to investigate the previously unexplored southern polar region of the moon. Achieving this goal would have marked a significant milestone in the realm of scientific accomplishments.

What went wrong with Chandrayaan–2?

According to ISRO’s Chairman S Somnath, there were three mistakes that led to the hard landing of Vikram:-

#1: Extra Thrust in Engines

There were five engines in Chandrayaan-2, which decreased the velocity of the lander while landing; however, the scientist did not expect them to thrust so hard. This compromised the stability of the lander.

#2: Fast Turns

When the communication was lost, and the craft had extra powerful thrusts, it had to make high-speed turns. These turns were limited by the software installed because the scientists had not anticipated turns at that rate.

#3: Landing Spot

The Chandrayaan-2 had a small landing patch of 500×500 meters, and Vikram, the lander, deviated from its altitude. This increased the lander’s velocity close to the surface even though the landing patch was far away.

However, all was not lost, and Chandrayaan-2 was not a complete failure either because the lander crashed, and the orbiter was still orbiting the moon. India was applauded internationally for its attempt at moon landing, and ISRO took in a lot of lessons from Chandrayaan–2 to soft land Chandrayaan–3 successfully today.

The Success Story: Chandrayaan–3

Chandrayaan–3 mission aimed to soft-land on the surface of the moon, and the rover should conduct various scientific experiments and collect data about the geology of the surface of the moon. For this, it is carrying six payloads to test lunar soil and also capture photos of Earth from lunar orbit.

Chandrayaan-3 is not only a follow-up to Chandrayaan-2 but also uses the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter as it establishes two-way communication from the same.

Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed on the south pole of the moon, and the rover, which has two payloads to analyze the surface composition of the moon, will start its work.

ISRO: Key Lessons Learnt from Chandrayaan–2

As mentioned above, Chandrayaan-2’s lander may not have successfully soft-landed on the surface of the moon, but it taught some important lessons to the ISRO team, which they incorporated into the Chandrayaan–3.

#1: Design of the Lander

Chandrayaan-2 was designed for a successful landing. It was a success-based design from the ISRO team. However, Chandrayaan-3 has a failure-based design where the focal point is landing. The team ensured that even if some aspects of the lander failed, the lander should be able to land on the surface of the moon. There are many mis-happenings taken into consideration, like engine failure, sensor failure, and algorithm failure.

#2: Apparatus of the Craft

Chandrayaan-2 had nine instruments in the lander; however, this time, ISRO has ensured that there is only one in-situ instrument called Spectro-polarimetry of habitable planet Earth or SHAPE. There are modifications made in the rocket, too, to suit the needs of Chandrayaan-3, but the rocket itself is the same one.

Indian scientists have improved the design, the software, and other modifications to run their failure-based strategy. This has not only made them aware of all mishappenings that can happen on the remote surface but also helped overcome them in advance.

Conclusion

In a journey marked by triumphs, setbacks, and steadfast perseverance, India’s Chandrayaan missions have showcased the nation’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of space exploration. From Chandrayaan-1’s successful lunar orbit entry and groundbreaking water discovery to the valuable lessons learned from Chandrayaan-2’s challenges, India’s space agency ISRO demonstrated resilience and adaptability. With Chandrayaan-3’s recent soft landing on the moon’s south pole, utilizing Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter and incorporating crucial design modifications, India’s moon missions embody a remarkable blend of scientific pursuit, international collaboration, and technological advancement.

For more information, kindly visit our official website – www.neodrafts.co