ISRO to launch Chandrayaan-3 in July this year: All you need to know
New Delhi : Chandrayaan-3, India's ambitious lunar exploration mission, aims to achieve a safe landing and rover operation on the Moon's surface. It is the third expedition of its kind undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO), following the Chandrayaan-2 mission. The objective of Chandrayaan-3 is to showcase the necessary landing capabilities for a planned lunar polar exploration mission in 2024, in collaboration with Japan, which will require advanced landing skills.
The mission consists of a Lander module and a Rover configuration, and it will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota using the LVM3 launch vehicle. The propulsion module will transport the Lander and Rover to a lunar orbit of 100 kilometers.
Notably, the propulsion module carries the Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload, which is designed to study the spectral and polarimetric properties of Earth from the lunar orbit.
Key Features of Chandrayaan-3:
Chandrayaan-3 comprises an indigenous Lander module (LM), a Propulsion module (PM), and a Rover, with the primary objective of developing and demonstrating new technologies essential for interplanetary missions.
The Lander module is equipped with the capability to perform a soft landing on a designated lunar site and deploy the Rover, which will conduct in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during its mobility.
Both the Lander and Rover carry scientific payloads to conduct experiments on the lunar surface.
The Propulsion module's main function is to transport the Lander module from the launch vehicle injection to the final lunar orbit of 100 kilometers in a circular polar orbit, after which it separates from the Lander module.
The Propulsion module also carries an additional scientific payload, which will be operated after the separation of the Lander module.
The chosen launcher for the Chandrayaan-3 mission is the GSLV-Mk3, which will place the integrated module in an Elliptic Parking Orbit (EPO) with dimensions of approximately 170 x 36,500 kilometers.
Objectives of the Chandrayaan-3 mission:
Demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.
Demonstrate rover mobility and exploration on the Moon.
Conduct in-situ scientific experiments on the lunar surface.
