New Delhi: India’s ambitious moon mission Chandrayaan-3’s lander Vikram is “at the doorstep of the moon”, a scientist said Wednesday morning, explaining how its two cameras will play a crucial part in the touchdown scheduled at 6.04 pm.
Dr T.V. Venkateswaran said Wednesday that the lander was carrying two important cameras that would guide Vikram to its final resting place on the lunar south pole. If the mission is successful, India will be the first country to land an aircraft in this perilous terrain full of craters and deep trenches.
“One camera is called the lander position detection camera and the other is the hazard detection and avoidance camera… (these) have been tested. The lander position camera will take a snapshot of the surface of the moon below and will keep it on one side…. Already, a very detailed photograph of the landing region has been made by the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter… which is there in the computer’s memory… with this photograph, it (the computer) will compare… and say that currently the position of the craft is at this point on the moon,” Venkateswaran said.
The scientist added that the hazard avoidance camera will detect hazards on the lunar surface just below the lander when it is approaching the touchdown spot. “It will look particularly for deep ditches… because if one leg of the lander goes into one, the whole lander will topple… or it will look for big rocks. You need a surface which is largely plain… it will look for that kind of a spot and guide the craft to land in that place,” Venkateswaran explained.
VIDEO | “The lander is at the doorstep of the Moon. It’s a matter of few hours before it will make a landing attempt,” says scientist Dr TV Venkateswaran on Chandrayaan-3 mission.#Chandrayaan3Landing pic.twitter.com/aUkqwRQDLj
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2023
Vikram will begin its powered descent on the moon’s surface at 5.45 pm and the entire process is likely to take nearly half an hour.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Tuesday the lander was sailing smoothly and that systems were undergoing regular checks. The space agency also shared images of the surface taken by the lander position camera (LPDC) when it was at an altitude of 70 kilometres on 19 August.
The agency said on X, “LPDC images assist the Lander Module in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard moon reference map.”
A billion prayers have gone up since then, as India looks forward to becoming the fourth country to land an unmanned craft on the moon, and the first on its south pole.
From pujas at home, havans in temples, to offering chadars at mosques – citizens left no stone unturned for Vikram’s safe landing, particularly since a similar Russian mission, Luna-25, failed last Saturday.
VIDEO | Parents of ISRO scientist Sudhanshu Kumar, who is a part of Chandrayaan-3 team, offer prayers at their home in Bihar’s Gaya for the successful landing of of India’s third lunar mission.#Chandrayaan3Landing pic.twitter.com/lLyaOo9Zll
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2023
India’s previous mission Chandrayaan-2 had not been able to land Vikram either, which crashed on the moon’s surface during the attempt in 2019. The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter has already established contact with the present lander module, ISRO said Monday.
CEO and chief educator, Rocketeers Research Institute, Divyanshu Poddar said, “We have learnt a lot from Chandrayaan 2… We have made changes in our communication, propulsion and in the (lander’s) legs… Russia’s failure just shows how difficult it is to land on the moon.”
Once it lands, Vikram will open its ramp to roll down the rover, Pragyaan, which is designed to move freely on the moon’s surface.
Both solar-powered crafts will last one lunar day — which is equal to 14 earth days.
The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are safe and soft-landing, the rover moving on the lunar surface and in-situ scientific experiments.
A successful landing on the moon’s south pole Wednesday will expand knowledge of lunar water ice, which is potentially one of the moon’s most valuable resources. It will also encourage India’s space ambitions.
Knowledge about ancient water ice – if it exists in sufficient quantities – could be a source of drinking water for moon exploration and could also help cool equipment, scientists have said. It could also be broken down to produce hydrogen for fuel and oxygen to breathe, supporting missions to Mars or lunar mining.
ISRO will live telecast the landing operation at Mission Operation Complex (MOX) from 5.20 pm. One can watch it on ISRO’s website, its YouTube channel, Facebook page and also on DD National TV.
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