Chandrayaan-3 is the name of a space mission of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) that was officially launched on July 14, 2023. The purpose of the mission is to deepen studies on Earth's natural satellite, the moon, and demonstrate India's technological capability to land on the lunar surface and conduct research in loco (on site). After a failed attempt that happened in 2019, the Indian lunar module successfully landed at the south pole of the Moon on August 23, 2023.
India became the first country to land on the south pole of the moon, a region that is still largely unexplored. Furthermore, it became part of the group of four countries that have already landed on the lunar surface. Next to it are the United States, China and Russia (at the time of the Soviet Union).
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Summary about the Chandrayaan-3 mission
Chandrayaan-3 is an exploration mission launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India's space agency.
It is the third leg of India's exploratory mission to the Moon. Before that, Chandrayaan-1 was launched in 2008 and Chandrayaan-2 in 2019.
Chandrayaan-1 conducted a probe to Earth's natural satellite, and obtained important data on the composition of the lunar surface. It was discontinued in 2009.
Chandrayaan-2 carried, in addition to a probe, a lunar module, an orbital vehicle and another that would travel over the surface of the Moon.
More complex in terms of desired objectives, the Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully inserted the orbital vehicle into the Moon's orbit, but lost contact with the lunar module, which crashed.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission was officially launched on July 14, 2023, having reached the Moon's orbit on August 5.
Landed on the south pole of the Moon on August 23, 2023, at 9:34 am in Brasilia Time.
From landing, the Indian mission to the Moon will last 14 Earth days (1 lunar day).
The total cost of Chandrayaan-3 was approximately $75 million.
With this mission, India was the first country to land on the south pole of the Moon, in addition to being the fourth to reach the surface of the natural satellite.
Among the investigations to be carried out by the Chandrayaa-3 mission is the possibility of the presence of frozen water in the craters at the south pole of the Moon.
Chandrayaan-3 mission background
Chandrayaan-3 is the third stage of the space mission launched by India's space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), whose main objective is to explore the orbit and surface of the natural satellite from planet earth, the moon. The first stage of this exploratory mission was named Chandrayaan-1, launched on October 22, 2008.
Chandrayaan-1 was the first mission launched by the Indian space agency with the aim of exploring deep space.. Its objectives were the chemical and mineralogical analysis of the surface of the Moon, in addition to carrying out geological mapping of the areas through which it passed. Chandrayaan-1 took all the necessary equipment to carry out these procedures, and gave a "ride" for the instruments of other international space agencies, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and the Germany.
Weeks after launch, in November 2008, the Indian probe managed to enter the Moon's orbit. However, even before reaching its destination, Chandrayaan-1 began to experience problems. Even so, the mission continued and, in the first months of 2009, it had already managed to carry out most of the tasks for which it had been programmed. Failures in the systems of the probe used on Chandrayaan-1 were detected in mid-2009, and contact with the probe was completely lost on 28 August. It is believed that overheating was what caused the failure and interruption of India's first space mission into deep space.
According to NASA, one of the main discoveries made by the mission of the Indian space agency was the existence of water on the Moon.
A decade after the end of the Chandrayaan-1 mission, ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-2 mission. As explained by the Indian agency itself, this new mission represented a technological leap in relation to its predecessor. In addition to a probe, a rover (a vehicle that travels on the surface of a planet or satellite), a landing module (lander) and an orbiter (a vehicle that orbits the celestial body without landing on its surface). Chandrayaan-2's goal was the most detailed and complex study of the Moon and its atmosphere.
It can be said that Chandrayaan-2 was, in fact, a test mission for the realization of Chandrayaan-3, considering that its objective was to land at the south pole of the Moon, an unexplored region of the natural satellite. The Chandrayaan-2 rover was launched on July 22, 2019, arriving in Moon orbit on August 20. The orbiter was successfully placed to carry out its functions, in which it should remain for about seven years. However, a software problem caused the loss of contact with the lander.
What are the objectives of the Chandrayaan-3 mission?
As specified by the Indian space agency, ISRO, the Chandrayaan-3 mission has as its main objectives:
demonstrate the ability to perform a safe and smooth landing on the surface of the Moon;
demonstrate the operation of the rover, which moves on the lunar surface;
conduct scientific experiments in situ, that is, on the surface of the Moon itself.
Features of Chandrayaan-3
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is described by the Indian space agency, ISRO, as a continuation of the Chandrayaan-2 mission. In the previous attempt, interrupted by failure to contact the landing module, data would be collected and different studies carried out to understand the origin and evolution process of the Moon. Among the main lunar aspects that would be analyzed were:
seismography;
topography;
chemical composition;
identification and distribution of minerals;
thermophysical characteristics of the surface of the Moon;
atmospheric composition.
So that it can successfully complete its objectives, and conduct the studies that were interrupted in the previous mission, Chandrayaan-3 took a series of equipment produced with advanced technology to guarantee the security of the mission. This includes landing leg mechanisms, hazard detectors and accident prevention instruments. In addition to them are the landing and propulsion modules.
The Chandrayaan-3 was officially launched on July 14, 2023 at 06:05 am Brasilia Time. The Indian unmanned space vehicle Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) departed from the base located on the island of Sriharikota in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Again, the Indian mission took equipment, more precisely microsatellites, from other countries such as the United States, Lithuania and Switzerland. The Chandrayaan-3 entered the orbit of the Moon in August 05, 2023.
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Chandrayaan-3 moon landing
Unlike its predecessor, the Chandrayaan-3 mission achieved one of its main objectives: to land safely at the south pole of the Moon. The lunar module of Chandrayaan-3 landedat the south pole lunar on August 23, 2023, at 9:34 am in Brasilia Time. With that India became the fourth country to land on the lunar surface and the first country to land on the lunar south pole.
Chandrayaan-3 mission duration
The Indian Space Research Organization has determined the duration of 14 earth days for the Chandrayaan-3 mission from the Moon landing, discounting then the round trip. This period corresponds to only 1 day in lunar time.
Between July 14 and 25, 2023, the mission carried out maneuvers around planet Earth, approaching the Moon from August 1. Four days later, the vehicle managed to enter the orbit of the natural satellite and land on the surface on August 23.
Chandrayaan-3 Financing
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is being considered a low-cost space mission when compared to those carried out by space agencies in other countries. The cost of Chandrayaan-3 was approximately US$75 million, which is equivalent to R$365,520,000. Many Indian aerospace engineering and technology companies have contributed to the mission by providing parts and equipment for the vehicles, modules and probes.
Importance of Chandrayaan-3 mission to India
Chandrayaan-3 has definitely put India in the history of world astronomy. The country was the first to successfully land on the south pole of the Moon, in addition to being the fourth to reach the surface of Earth's natural satellite. Before India, only the United States, China and Russia, when it was still part of the Soviet Union, had landed on the lunar surface. Thus, the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 demonstrated India's technological prowess in carrying out deep space missions, equating it with the great world powers, contemporary or not.
Considering the scientific importance of the mission, Chandrayaan-3 began the exploration of a region of the Moon still little explored. The images that are already being shared and the information that will be collected by the Indian mission will be fundamental for the studies about the natural satellite, in particular with regard to the presence of frozen water in the craters located in the most distant region of the Moon.
image credit
[1]agilard / Shutterstock
[2]agilard / Shutterstock
Sources
ISRO. Chandrayaan-2. ISRO, 2019. Available in: https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan_2.html.
ISRO. Chandrayaan-3. ISRO, c2023. Available in: https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan3_Details.html.
NASA. Chandrayaan-1: Moon Impact Probe. Solar System Exploration – NASA, 2019. Available in: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/chandrayaan-1/in-depth/.
THE GLOBE. Indian lunar module Chandrayaan-3 makes historic landing in nearly unexplored region of the Moon. Jornal O Globo, 2023. Available in: https://oglobo.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2023/08/23/modulo-lunar-indiano-chandrayaan-3-pousa-em-regiao-quase-inexplorada-da-lua.ghtml.
ESSAY. Understand the objectives of the Indian space mission Chandrayaan-3 towards the Moon. Galileo Magazine, 2023. Available in: https://revistagalileu.globo.com/ciencia/espaco/noticia/2023/07/entenda-os-objetivos-da-missao-espacial-indiana-chandrayaan-3-rumo-a-lua.ghtml.
TV BRICS. India launches a new satellite from its space base on the island of Sriharikota. TV BRICS, 2019. Available in: https://tvbrics.com/pt/news/ndia-lan-a-novo-sat-lite-de-sua-base-espacial-na-ilha-de-sriharikota/.
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/chandrayaan-3.htm