Lunar Triumph: India's Strides with Chandrayaan-Quest

Jakarta, Indonesia - On Wednesday, August 23, the Indian Chandrayaan-3 robotic lander achieves history by landing near the lunar south polar zone, becoming the fourth country to do so, trailing only the United States, Russia (previously known as the Soviet Union), and China.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft accelerated to the surface by entering an elliptical orbit with a high point of 83 miles and a low point of 15.5 miles. It paused for a 10-second fall to align with the landing site before continuing the computer-controlled descent to touchdown.

"This moment is unforgettable. It is phenomenal. This is a victory cry of a new India," Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked as he watched the landing from South Africa, where he is attending a BRICS meeting, a group that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

As the spaceship touched down, scientists and officials clapped, cheered, and hugged each other, while people across India celebrated by letting off firecrackers and dancing in the streets.

"India is on the moon," stated S. Somanath, chief of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), as the Chandrayaan-3 landed, making India the fourth nation after the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union to safely land a spacecraft on the moon.

The thrilling arrival of Chandrayaan-3, which was broadcast live on YouTube and the Indian space agency's website, ended a four-year attempt to recoup from a software malfunction that led the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to crash seconds before impact in 2019.

The planned landing of the Luna-25 probe on Monday, Russia's first attempt to touch down on the moon in nearly 50 years, appeared to steal some of India's thunder. However, a thruster firing went wrong over the weekend, and Roscosmos, Russia's official space agency, announced the spacecraft had "ceased to exist" after a "collision with the lunar surface."

In contrast, Chandrayaan-3's orbital modifications followed protocol, resulting in a landing that coincided with lunar sunrise at the landing site. Chandrayaan-3 is a two-week lunar "day" mission that includes the solar-powered Vikram lander and an 83-pound six-wheel rover named Pragyan that was brought to the surface tucked inside the lander.

The mission, which launched on July 14, is the first to land on the moon's south pole zone, which is of particular interest due to the likelihood of accessible ice deposits in permanently shadowed craters. Ice might provide future astronauts with an in-situ source of air, water, and possibly hydrogen rocket fuel.

NASA's Artemis program intends to send astronauts to the moon's south pole in the future years, while China intends to send its own astronauts, or "taikonauts," there. The mission, which aims to examine ice deposits in shadowed craters, is also being pursued by India, Japan, the European Space Agency, and commercial companies.

This article was written from a third-party source.

Works Cited:

Bhattacharjee, Nivedita. “Chandrayaan-3 Spacecraft Lands on the Moon in ‘Victory Cry of a New India.’” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 23 Aug. 2023, www.reuters.com/world/india/india-counts-down-crucial-moon-landing-2023-08-23/.

Harwood, William. “Indian Chandrayaan-3 Moon Mission Makes History after Landing near Lunar South Polar Region.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 23 Aug. 2023, www.cbsnews.com/news/india-moon-landing-mission-chandrayaan-3-success/.

“Moon Landing: India Lands Space Craft on Lunar Surface, Which Other Countries Are in Race to Reach Moon?” The Economic Times, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., 24 Aug. 2023, economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/moon-landing-india-lands-space-craft-on-lunar-surface-which-other-countries-are-in-race-to-reach-moon/articleshow/102995298.cms?from=mdr.

Image source: India Today