Chandrayaan-3 update: ISRO says spacecraft heading to moon working 'perfectly'

All systems on an Indian spacecraft heading to the moon, dubbed Chandrayaan-3, are working “perfectly” and no contingencies are anticipated on the landing day, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Monday, days after the failure of a Russian lander, Luna-25.

India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is on course to land on August 23 on the lunar south pole, a region where shadowed craters are thought to contain water ice which could support a future moon settlement. According to the ISRO, the lander is expected to make a soft-landing near the South Pole of the moon on August 23 at 5.47 pm. The lander will descend to the moon from a height of about 100 km from the moon’s surface.

The soft landing is a tricky issue as it involves a series of complex manoeuvres consisting of rough and fine braking. Imaging of the landing site region prior to landing will be done for finding safe and hazard-free zones. Subsequent to the soft landing, the six-wheeled rover will roll out and carry out experiments on the lunar surface for a period of one lunar day which is equal to 14 earth days.

The Chandrayaan-3 was put into orbit on July 14 in a copybook style by India’s heavy lift rocket LVM3. The spacecraft completed orbiting around the earth and headed towards the moon on August 1.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

Here are the images of
Lunar far side area
captured by the
Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC).

This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area — without boulders or deep trenches — during the descent is developed by ISRO… pic.twitter.com/rwWhrNFhHB

— ISRO (@isro) August 21, 2023

The Indian space agency on last Thursday afternoon successfully detached the moon lander from the main spacecraft Chandrayaan-3. “The second and final deboosting operation has successfully reduced the LM orbit to 25 km x 134 km. The module would undergo internal checks and await the sunrise at the designated landing site. The powered descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 1745 Hrs. IST,” ISRO posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft comprises a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), a lander (1,723.89 kg) and a rover (26 kg). “Thanks for the ride, mate!” said the Lander Module (LM). LM is successfully separated from the Propulsion Module (PM). LM is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow around 1600 Hrs., IST,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had tweeted.

The main purpose of India’s third moon mission, costing about Rs 600 crore, is to land the lander softly on the moon. The Chandrayaan-2 mission failed as the lander called ‘Vikram’ crashed on to the moon.

— Written with inputs from Agencies