India’s much-anticipated lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, is all set for launch on July 14 at 2:35 P.M. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officially announced the launch date, which was later confirmed by the Secretary of Space department and ISRO Chairman, S. Somnath, during a press briefing in Bengluru.
Chandrayaan-3 aims to achieve an extraordinary feat by landing at the Moon’s South Pole, a location where the presence of water molecules was discovered during India’s inaugural moon mission in 2008. This groundbreaking revelation had captivated the global audience at the time.
India is striving to become the fourth country to accomplish a gentle touchdown on the Moon, following the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and Israel. Among these nations, all except Israel were able to successfully achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface. Should Chandrayaan-3 accomplish a successful soft landing, India will join this exclusive group as the fourth nation to reach this significant milestone.
Recent progress in the mission includes the successful completion of the “Launch Rehearsal,” as announced by ISRO via a tweet on Tuesday. The comprehensive simulation involved a 24-hour span of the entire launch preparation and process.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft consists of a Lander Module (LM), Propulsion Module (PM), and a Rover, with an objective of developing and demonstrating new technologies required for interplanetary missions. Equipped with scientific payloads, the Lander and Rover will conduct experiments on the lunar surface. Notable scientific instruments include the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS), which will analyze the composition of the lunar soil and rocks near the landing site, providing valuable insights into the elemental makeup of the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3 will be launched by the powerful Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This mission serves as a follow-on to Chandrayaan-2, with the primary goal of demonstrating end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. The launcher identified for Chandrayaan-3 is the GSLV-MK3.