India can make history by becoming the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon. The Chandrayaan-3 Countdown Timer is on as ISRO attempts to land spacecraft. (PTI)

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 Mission to Touch Down on the Moon in Under 8 Hours

Febin MathewAugust 23, 23 India, ISRO, moon, Space

India is set to achieve a significant milestone in space exploration in less than 9 hours, becoming the fourth country to do so after the US, Russia, and China. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) initiated the Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 14, aiming to send the Vikram Lander and Pragyan rover to the Moon’s south pole region. This marks ISRO’s second endeavor to land on the Moon, making it crucial to understand more about this space mission before its imminent landing attempt.

Chandrayaan-3 components

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has three parts – a lander (Vikram), a rover (Pragyan) and a propulsion module. The lander and rover separated from the propulsion module on August 17 and began their descent towards the lunar surface. Meanwhile, the propulsion module remains in orbit for months and years, conducting its own experiments. Recently, the Lander Module (LM) of Chandrayaan-3 contacted the Orbital or Propulsion Module of Chandrayaan-2 and established a two-way link.

What happens after the moon landing

If the Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeds in landing on the Moon, the Vikram Lander will open on the other side and create a ramp for the Pragyan rover. Pragyan Rover with tricolor and ISRO logo will move away from landing after 4 hours. It moves at 1 cm per second and uses its navigation cameras to scan the surface of the Moon. Its main goal is to gather information about the compositional structure of the Moon’s atmosphere. On the other hand, the Vikram Lander will also collect data on the near-surface plasma, density, thermal properties, seismicity, and structural composition of the Moon’s crust and mantle.

The rover has two weeks (one lunar cycle) to study the Moon’s atmosphere. The Pragyan rover is solar powered and can only communicate with the Lander. The Vikram Lander, on the other hand, can communicate directly with Earth and share all information. Communication can also be used as an emergency backup in the Chandrayaan-2 orbit.