ISRO chairman reveals Chandrayaan-3 launch date. What sets this project apart?
Chandrayaan-3 has more fuel-carrying capacity and the landing legs have been strengthened.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled its ambitious plan to launch Chandrayaan-3, the highly anticipated third edition of its lunar mission in the target launch window spanning from July 12 to 19.
"The final preparations are going on. It will be completed by the end of this month. The rocket, LVM-3, is going to be used for this launch and its assembly is going on. All parts for its assembly have reached Sriharikota. It will be launched between July 12 and 19," said ISRO chairman S Somanath.
The unmanned lunar exploration project follows Chandrayaan-2, which was unable to put a rover on the moon. The upcoming launch intends to demonstrate end-to-end competence in safe lunar landing and exploration.
What are the objectives of Chandrayaan-3?
ISRO says there are three mission objectives of the Chandrayaan-3
1) To demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface;
2) To demonstrate Rover roving on the moon
3) Conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
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What happened to the Chandrayaan-2 mission?
Chandrayaan-2 encountered a setback during its landing attempt on September 7, 2019. During the descent phase, the Vikram lander carrying the Pragyan rover strayed from its original course, and the connection with the lander was lost.
Despite the unexpected conclusion, Chandrayaan-2's orbiter component, which is still functioning, continues to circle the moon and collect crucial scientific data. The mission was a watershed moment in India's space exploration efforts, demonstrating the country's technological prowess and opening the way for future lunar expeditions.
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How is Chandrayaan-3 different from its predecessor?
Chandrayaan-3, to be seated on the LVM3 launcher, has more fuel-carrying capacity and the landing legs have been strengthened. Embedded with more sensors, it has bigger solar panels to produce more energy. It also has a newly developed 'Laser Doppler VelociMeter' instrument to measure its speed.
"We have also changed its algorithm and new software has been added to help Chandrayaan to land in another area if there is any failure at the scheduled spot," said the ISRO Chairman. It is to be noted that Chandrayaan-2 reportedly failed due to a software glitch and not due to any mechanical failure of its parts.
According to ISRO, the propulsion module will transport the lander and rover configuration to a lunar orbit of 100km. This module also includes a payload called Spectropolarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE), which will study Earth's spectral and polarimetric measurements from the lunar orbit.
(Inputs from ANI)
