India’s ambitious lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, took off successfully from Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced the successful separation of the satellite into orbit, marking a significant achievement in the mission to the moon.
If the mission accomplishes a “soft” landing on the moon’s surface, India will become the fourth country to achieve this feat, following the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union.
Chandrayaan-3 includes a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan. Its purpose is to conduct scientific experiments on the lunar surface. The new version of the lander has been equipped with stronger legs to handle landings at higher velocities. Vikram carries four payloads, while Pragyan carries two payloads, which will be utilized to study lunar characteristics.
In 2019, India’s second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, was launched but did not achieve a successful soft landing on the moon. The unmanned mission, costing ₹978 crore, encountered a setback when the lander lost communication with ground stations at an altitude of 2.1 km from the moon’s surface.
The launch of Chandrayaan-3 represents a significant step forward for India’s space exploration endeavors, bringing the nation closer to its goal of exploring the moon and expanding scientific knowledge about Earth’s celestial neighbor.
