The Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon is a significant stepping stone for India and ISRO. A successful landing will mean that India becomes the first country to reach the south pole of the Moon, a feat that has proven to be immensely difficult for all space agencies.
The Vikram module’s landing is wrought with challenges, from its rapid deceleration to its tough approach angle. And even if it lands successfully, things would be just getting started for ISRO.
Here are seven facts about the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission we bet you didn’t know about.
Severe deceleration
The Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan-3 is currently traveling about 25 kilometers above the lunar surface at 6000kmph. From this, it needs to come down to a rate of 1 meter per second within seconds. Additionally, the Vikram lender must make a sharp 90-degree turn as it moves away from its orbit. ISRO must make some significant adjustments at rapid, almost breakneck speeds.
First, to the lunar south pole
With the Chandryaan-3, India aims to become the first country to land on the south pole of the Moon successfully. Like all planets and extraterrestrial bodies, the magnetic and gravitational fields around the bars behave similarly. That is why, despite several attempts, no mission to land on the lunar south pole has succeeded.
Overachiever
The propulsion module, which they initially thought would only keep chugging for about three to six months, is still going strong with over 150 kg of fuel left. This means it could keep doing its thing for many more years.
On July 14, when they launched it, the propulsion module got a full tank with 1,696.4 kg of fuel. As it made its way to the Moon, it did some crucial maneuvers on its journey to the Moon. The cool part is it didn’t guzzle up nearly as much fuel as ISRO thought it would during all of this action.
Mission objectives
The Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission has a bunch of tasks. Most of them aim to study the atmosphere of the Moon to the soil and rocks, to see whether they can be used to facilitate human habitation in any way. During its 14-day mission, the Pragyan rover will look for water ice, which scientists say could support future human habitation on the Moon. It could also supply fuel for spacecraft headed to Mars and other distant destinations.
Heavyweight
With its four landing legs and four landing thrusters, the Vikram lander has a mass of 1749.86 kg, including 26 kilograms of the rover. This means on the Moon, the landing module weighs about 2800 kg. This makes the landing even more challenging for ISRO.
Looking for space fuel
Besides searching for water ice on the Moon, the Pragyan rover will also look for Helium-3 or He-3. Helium-3 could be used as fuel for super cool nuclear fusion reactions. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and other stars, and if harnessed on Earth, it could provide a nearly limitless and clean energy source without radioactive waste.
India’s lander less likely to fail
Lunar missions to the south pole have been all the rage for years. However, landing in and around the bars is a challenging task. However, ISRO chief S Somanath revealed a clever strategy to ensure Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander sticks the landing. Even if its fancy sensors or engines decide to act up, they plan to handle it like a pro.
“The entire design of the lander has been made in a manner that makes sure that it would be able to handle failures,” the Isro chief said
“If everything fails, if all the sensors fail, nothing works, still it (Vikram) will make a landing. That’s how it has been designed – provided that the propulsion system works well,” Somanath said.
