Launch of India’s moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, on July 13

Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV

New Delhi, June 28, 2023: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has confirmed the launch date for its highly anticipated lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3. The rocket is slated to launch on July 13 at 2:30 pm local time, officials announced today.

 

The mission, India’s third venture to the moon, represents another significant step for the nation in space exploration, following the successful but bittersweet Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019. While the previous mission managed to orbit the moon, the Vikram lander suffered a hard landing that prevented the rover from being deployed as planned.

ISRO officials are optimistic about the upcoming mission’s potential for success. The Chandrayaan-3 mission is expected to further deepen our understanding of the moon, with its main objective being to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover.

The launch is set to take place at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, using a GSLV Mark 3 heavy-lift launch vehicle. The mission has been budgeted at ₹ 615 crore.

The Chandrayaan-3 has undergone rigorous testing and validation processes to mitigate risks and ensure a successful mission. The mission design, including the lunar payload configuration, has been optimized based on lessons learned from the previous mission.

This time around, ISRO has taken significant strides to ensure the success of the mission. The Chandrayaan-3 mission will include a lander and a rover similar to Chandrayaan-2 but will not carry an orbiter. The propulsion module, designed to behave like a communications relay satellite, will carry the lander and rover until the spacecraft is in a 100 km lunar orbit.

A key addition to the mission is the inclusion of the Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload. This equipment will study the spectral and polarimetric measurements of Earth from the lunar orbit, offering scientists valuable data about our home planet.

ISRO has outlined three primary objectives for the Chandrayaan-3 mission: to achieve a safe and soft landing on the Moon, demonstrate the rover’s loitering capabilities on the lunar surface, and conduct in-situ scientific observations. The mission aims to explore the chemical and natural elements, soil, and water available on the lunar surface to improve understanding of the Moon’s composition.

The mission is significant not only for India but also for the global scientific community. It builds upon the knowledge gained from the previous missions and strengthens the capabilities required for future lunar and interplanetary explorations.