Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission aims for a historic soft landing on the Moon’s south pole on Wednesday. In case the mission ends successfully, it would mark another milestone for India’s space exploration, building on the achievements of Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2, contributing to lunar science and exploration insights.
Though the ISRO’s mission scientists will be programming the landing a day prior, the last 20 minutes would be critical as it would involve autonomous landing maneuvers.
Chandrayaan-3 schedule and latest updates
Informing about Chandrayaan-3 mission, ISRO cited on Tuesday that it is right on schedule. It took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to say “Systems are undergoing regular checks, smooth sailing is continuing.”
Chandrayaan-3, is all set to make a soft and successful landing on the south polar region of the Moon around 6.04pm today, August 23.
The space agency also shared a video of images of the moon captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) from an altitude of about 70 km, the ISRO. “LPDC images assist the Lander Module in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard moon reference map,” it said.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, it posted, All set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). Awaiting the arrival of Lander Module (LM) at the designated point
Also read: ‘Nehru’s vision’: Chhattisgarh CM credits former PM for Chandrayaan-3
PM Modi to witness event from South Africa
For India, a successful moon landing would mark its emergence as a space power as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government looks to spur investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will watch the landing from South Africa, where he is attending the ongoing BRICS summit, media reported.
Rough terrain makes a south pole landing difficult, and a first landing would be historic. The region’s water ice could supply fuel, oxygen and drinking water for future missions.
Also read: Chandrayaan-3: Story of spacecraft’s Tamil connect and scientific payload
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Updated: 23 Aug 2023, 01:10 PM IST