The main goal of Chandrayaan-3 is to demonstrate a safe and soft lunar surface...
Digital Desk: India's third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3 will make a significant maneuver in its journey today. The spacecraft is set to enter lunar orbit at 7 p.m., marking an important turn in this ambitious mission.
Chandrayaan-3, launched on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, has remained on a steady course towards the moon.
The spacecraft will be inserted into an orbit around the moon today through a maneuver called a Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI), which will be carried out from Bengaluru's ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC).
The main goal of Chandrayaan-3 is to demonstrate a safe and soft lunar surface landing and to operate a rover for approximately one lunar day, or 14 Earth days.
The 26-kilogram rover is equipped with a drill, spectrometers, cameras, and other scientific tools to examine the lunar surface.
The mission serves as a trial run for ISRO's upcoming interplanetary missions, showcasing critical capabilities and opening the door to further in-depth study of our solar system's neighbors.
The spacecraft is expected to land near the lunar south pole on August 23, 2023, at 5.47 p.m.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission comes after Chandrayaan-2, whose landing guidance software failed just before takeoff, causing the lander to crash after entering lunar orbit.
Learning from the past experience, ISRO has made significant improvements in the design and technology of Chandrayaan-3.
Compared to Chandrayaan-2, the lander for Chandrayaan-3 has a Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV) and stronger impact legs. The six-wheeled rover, which will likely make significant scientific advancements about the lunar surface's composition, has a 500-meter range.
To study the spectral and polarimetric measurements of Earth from the lunar orbit, the mission also contains the Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload on the propulsion module.
Chandrayaan-3's mission continues to represent India's growing expertise in space research and its dedication to solving the cosmos' mysteries as the country waits for the project's successful lunar orbit insertion.
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