Chandrayaan 3 highlights: India's 3rd moon mission begins, landing attempt on August 23

As India readies for its third moon mission, Chandrayaan 3, actors Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher and Suniel Shetty have posted encouraging and congratulatory messages for ISRO scientists and the country. While Suniel wished ISRO ‘astronomical’ success, Akshay said it is 'time to rise'. 

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India was set to send a spacecraft to the far side of the moon Friday in a follow-up mission to its failed effort nearly four years ago to land a rover softly on the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-3, the word for “moon craft” in Sanskrit, will take off from a launch pad in Sriharikota in southern India with an orbiter, a lander and a rover. It will embark on a journey lasting slightly over a month before landing on the moon’s surface later in August.

A successful landing would make India the fourth country — after the United States, the Soviet Union, and China — to achieve the feat.

(AP)

On the launch of third moon exploration mission Chandrayaan-3, Union Minister of Praliamentary affairs Pralhad Joshi said on Friday, “I extend my best wishes to @isro as it stands close to achieving an extraordinary feat in space history. The success of Chandrayaan-3 will change the course of space science and research.”

Chandrayaan-3, the third lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is all set to take off. Chandrayaan-3will be launched on Friday at 2.35 pmfrom the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota using a Launch Vehicle Mark-3 rocket. The official countdown for the launch began on Thursday, 13 July 2023.ISRO has alsocompleted a launch rehearsal lasting 24 hours for Chandrayaan-3. As the hours for Chandrayaan-3 to take off come closer, many netizens have expressed their excitement over the mission on Twitter. Several also shared their best wishes with ISRO.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on launch of Chandrayaan-3 said on Friday, “14th July 2023 will always be etched in golden letters as far as India’s space sector is concerned. Chandrayaan-3, our third lunar mission, will embark on its journey. This remarkable mission will carry the hopes and dreams of our nation.”

Here is the timeline of the moon mission as undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

August 15, 2003: Then Prime Minister, the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee announces the Chandrayaan programme.

October 22, 2008: Chandrayaan-1 takes off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

November 8, 2008: Chandrayaan-1 enters a Lunar Transfer Trajectory.

November 14, 2008: The Moon impact probe ejects from Chandrayaan-1 and crashes near the lunar South Pole -- confirming the presence of water molecules on Moon's surface.

August 28, 2009: End of Chandrayaan 1 programme as per ISRO.

July 22, 2019: Chandrayaan-2 launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

August 20, 2019: Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft inserted into lunar orbit.

September 2, 2019: Vikram Lander was separated while orbiting the moon in a 100kms lunar polar orbit, however, communication from the lander to the ground stations was lost at an altitude of 2.1 km from the surface of the moon.

July 14, 2023: Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft scheduled to lift off from the second launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

August 23/24, 2023: Scientists at ISRO have tentatively scheduled soft landing on the lunar surface expected to take place by August 23-24 making India join elite nations to achieve the feat.

(PTI)

Maneck Behramkamdin, Associate Vice President and Business Head at Godrej Aerospace, on the launch of Chandrayaan 3 said, “Chandrayaan 3 being a very prestigious mission, Godrej has contributed to the hardware for the two engines, which are the second stage engines.”

He added, “If our understanding is correct, almost 80-90 per cent of the mission (Chandrayaan-3) is indigenous. It's a tribute to our founders and hardworking scientists at ISRO.”

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took to Twitter to say, “I join 1.4 billion Indians in cheering on @isro. See you on the moon, soon! #Chandrayaan3”

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Friday, “Pura hoga khwab, hum honge kamyab. After 3 years of penance, meditation and hard work of the scientists, the spaceship Chandrayaan 3 is ready to conquer the moon. The entire country wishes this much-awaited historic launch a success. Best wishes to the enlightened scientists of @ISRO and the entire team of the mission.”

ISRO on Friday said, “The countdown is progressing at SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota. Propellant filling in the L110 stage is completed. Propellant filling in the C25 stage is commencing.”

Karnataka deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said on Friday, “Big day for Indian Space exploration journey with #Chandrayaan3 all set for its launch today. I join the country in offering my best wishes to all @ISRO scientists, technicians and support staff on their commendable work as our country takes a brilliant step forward in its mission to the moon.”

A look at how Chandrayaan-3 forms backbone of India’s aspiration of being at the forefront of global space and scientific developments in the near future.

The Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO will launch its third mission to the Moon — Chandrayaan-3 at 2.35pm on Friday from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. If the landing is successful, India will become the fourth country, after the United States, Russia, and China, to achieve this remarkable feat. 

The position of a successful soft landing has remained unoccupied since the missions from Israel and India crash-landed in 2019, and the spacecraft carrying a lander-rover from Japan and a rover from the UAE failed in 2022.

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What is so uniquely common about Chandrayaan series that started off with the maiden lunar mission back in 2008? A Tamil connect.

After Tamil Nadu-born Mayilsamy Annadurai and M Vanitha helmed Chandrayaan 1 and 2, Villupuram native P Veeramuthuvel will be overseeing the third mission that would be fired towards the moon onboard the heavy launch vehicle, LVM3-M4 from here on Friday.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), under its chairmanship of the soft-spoken S Somanath, aims to enter an elite league of nations that have mastered the art of soft landing on the lunar surface, with a similar attempt made in 2008 not fetching the desired results. Veeramuthuvel, aged about 46 years, is currently project director of Chandrayaan-3 mission under the leadership of Somanath.

(PTI)

YSRCP National General Secretary Vijayasai Reddy V said on Friday, “The entire nation is extremely proud today as the scientists of @isro launch Chandrayaan-3 today from AP. I am sure that it will be a successful soft landing on the moon and India will become the 4th country to achieve this feat. My best wishes to everyone associated with the mission.”

Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a 22 ft long sand art of Chandrayaan 3 with the installation of 500 steel bowls with the message "Bijayee Bhava", at Puri beach in Odisha, yesterday.

(ANI)

Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said on Twitter, “My best wishes to the entire team at @isro on the scheduled launch of Chandrayaan-3 from Sriharikota in our very own #AndhraPradesh today.”

Astronaut Chris Hadfield said on Twitter, “India is landing on the Moon - launch in 7 hours! It'll take 42 days for #Chandrayaan3 to efficiently get there.”

Actor Akshay Kumar said, “And the time has come to rise! Great luck to all our scientists at @isro for #Chandrayaan3. A billion hearts are praying for you. 🙏”

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Twitter, “Such a long journey! From humble beginnings in 1963 to an emerging space power in 2023 🚀#Chandrayaan3. May the force be with you 👍🇮🇳”

As the scientific community is waiting with bated breath aiming for the successful third edition of India's moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 on Friday, here is a quick look at how the country's lunar expedition evolved over the years.

The Chandrayaan programme was conceived by the Government of India and formally announced by former Prime Minister, the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on August 15, 2003. Subsequently, the hardwork of the scientists paid off when the maiden mission onboard ISRO's trusted PSLV-C 11 rocket lifted off on October 22, 2008.

According to the Indian Space Research Organisation, PSLV-C11 was an updated version of the standard configuration of a PSLV. Weighing 320 tonnes at lift-off, the vehicle used larger strap-on motors to achieve higher payload capability.

(PTI)

Chandryaan-3, the successor to India’s ongoing series of lunar missions, Chandrayaan-1 and 2, is set to launch on July 14, with the target of making India only the fourth nation in the world to successfully land its spacecraft on the surface of the moon.

Isro chairman S Somanath, in an interview with HT earlier this week, said that his organisation is fully prepared for the launch and has taken its lessons from the shortcomings of Chandrayaan-2 – it launched on July 22, 2019, and made what Isro described as a “hard landing” on September 6 – to go forward with a so-called “failure-based” design for Chandrayaan-3.

“We are prepared for the launch. Since Chandrayaan-2, we have rectified the errors, and have improved the spacecraft to be more flexible to possible problems,” Somanath said.

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In July 1969, I was in primary school. My heroes were cricketers -- Farokh Engineer, BS Chandrasekhar and MAK Pataudi. For some of my friends, the idols were film stars. That changed overnight with the American moon landing. I put up large pictures of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, cut out from newspapers, on the walls. My father bought me a large towel with pictures of astronauts and the Moon. Half a century later, the new Indian descendants of the rocket boys – many of them women – are our new stars.

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The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is preparing to launch Chandrayaan-3 on July 14, 2023, and the US is keen to reap the advantages of this historic lunar voyage. The White House claims that data from Chandrayaan-3 could prove useful for future Artemis human landings. “India has signed the Artemis Accords, which advance a common vision of space exploration for the benefit of all humankind,” a White House statement stated.

Chandrayaan-3's major goal is to land safely on the lunar surface, undertake rover operations, and conduct critical scientific investigations. This project has enormous promise for the future of space travel, with data from it likely to benefit NASA's Artemis program, which intends to establish a long-term human presence on the moon.

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India's ambitious space programme Chandrayaan-3 is going to herald the country's quantum leap in the global arena, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh said here on Thursday. 

After the success story of the covid vaccine produced in India, the country has become an important global player to reckon with, the minister who is in charge of the Department of Space said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 11th India Alliance Annual Conclave 2023. 

Although India started its journey in space-related activities late compared to countries such as the USA and the former USSR, the minister pointed out, it is Chandrayaan-1 that picked up evidence of the presence of water on the surface of the moon, which became handy even for premier space agencies like NASA to conduct future experiments. India is geared up for the launch of the third edition of the Moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, on Friday.

(PTI)