News Notes
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has unveiled its plan to launch Chandrayaan-3, the third edition of its lunar mission in the target launch window spanning from July 12 to 19, 2023.
The unmanned lunar exploration project follows Chandrayaan-2, which was unable to put a rover on the moon. The upcoming launch intends to demonstrate end-to-end competence in safe lunar landing and exploration, according to ISRO.
The launch is aimed at demonstrating critical technology to land the Spacecraft on the South Pole of the Moon. Earlier this year, the Chandrayaan-3 Spacecraft successfully completed the essential tests that validated its capability to withstand the harsh environment that the Spacecraft would be facing during its launch and the subsequent journey. ISRO says there are three mission objectives of the Chandrayaan-3: To demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface; To demonstrate Rover roving on the moon; Conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
Chandrayan-1 identified for the first time ever, the presence of water on the surface of moon.
Chandrayaan-2 encountered a setback during its landing attempt on September 7, 2019. During the descent phase, the Vikram lander carrying the Pragyan rover strayed from its original course, and the connection with the lander was lost. Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter component, which is still functioning, continues to circle the moon and collect crucial scientific data.
