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Chandrayaan 3: Progress report on India's lunar Mission - 5 major updates
India's Chandrayaan 3 successfully lands on moon's far side, becoming first nation to position rover near southern pole.
Chandrayaan 3, India's third lunar mission, achieved a historic milestone by successfully landing on the moon's far side after a month-long journey through space. India became the first nation to position a rover near the southern pole, with the landing velocity well within test limits.
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Chandrayaan 3 missions latest developments
1. Following the landing, ISRO released an image captured by the Landing Imager Camera, revealing a segment of Chandrayaan-3's landing site along with the shadow of a leg. The chosen landing site is a relatively flat region on the lunar surface.
2. A communication link was established between the Chandrayaan 3 Lander and mission control in Bengaluru on Wednesday. This connection adds redundancy, as the link between Vikram lander and Chandrayaan-2 was already in place before the descent, ensuring dual communication options from the moon in case one fails.
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3. On Wednesday, the Pragyaan rover descended from the Vikram lander and undertook its first moonwalk. Utilising a two-segment ramp, the rover safely rolled down onto the lunar surface. Equipped with a solar panel for power generation, the rover's activities were documented through multiple videos shared by ISRO later.
4. The Indian Space Agency confirmed on Thursday that all Chandrayaan 3 mission activities are proceeding as planned and all systems are functioning normally. The Lander Module payloads ILSA, RAMBHA, and ChaSTE have been activated, and the SHAPE payload on the Propulsion Module was activated earlier on Sunday.
5. The Pragyan rover and Vikram lander will perform a set of testing on the lunar surface for 1 lunar day i.e. 14 Earth days, before the temperature drops below -200 degrees Celsius, above the tolerance level of the Chandrayaan 3 instruments.
What are the objectives of Chandrayaan 3?
The stated objectives of Chandrayaan 3, India's third lunar mission, were a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, the rover moving on the moon's surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.
