{"id":24239,"date":"2023-07-13T22:41:40","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T14:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/chandrayaan-3-lunar-landing-mission-launches-from-india\/"},"modified":"2023-07-13T22:41:40","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T14:41:40","slug":"chandrayaan-3-lunar-landing-mission-launches-from-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/chandrayaan-3-lunar-landing-mission-launches-from-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing mission launches from India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander launched from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. This will be India\u2019s second attempt to successfully perform a lunar landing after the Chandrayaan-2 lander failed during its descent.<\/p>\n<p>The Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) rocket lifted off Friday, July 14 at 09:05 UTC (2:35 PM local time. The LVM3 is India\u2019s medium-lift launcher, capable of flying heavier payloads than the other rockets ISRO has developed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019, is among the payloads the 43.5-meter-tall LVM3 has flown in its career. The rocket that flew Chandrayaan-3 was the LVM3-M4, and it was the seventh LVM3 launch since the rocket\u2019s first flight in late 2014. Additionally, this was the second LVM3 launch and fifth flight overall for ISRO in 2023.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Launch of LVM3-M4\/CHANDRAYAAN-3 Mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q2ueCg9bvvQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The LVM3 flew on a trajectory with an azimuth of 107 degrees out of Sriharikota, which is on the Bay of Bengal in southeast India. The rocket started its S200 solid rocket motors at T0 and lifts off the pad via the thrust of just these solid boosters. The L110 core stage, with two Vikas engines using hypergolic propellants, ignites 108.10 seconds into flight.<\/p>\n<p>At 127 seconds into the flight, the solid rocket boosters are jettisoned, and the L110 core stage, the upper stage, and the payload continued on their way to orbit. The five-meter fairing was jettisoned at 194.96 seconds into flight, and the L110 burned until T+305.56 seconds. The cryogenic C25 upper stage, using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants, finished the journey to orbit.<\/p>\n<p>The C25\u2019s engine shut down at T+954.42 seconds, with the Chandrayaan-3 Integrated Module (the lander and the Propulsion Module attached together) separating at T+969.42 seconds.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94757\" class=\"wp-image-94757 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0755.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"822\" height=\"759\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0755.png 701w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0755-350x323.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0755-379x350.png 379w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 822px) 100vw, 822px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-94757\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Chandrayaan-3 mission profile. (Credit: ISRO)<\/p>\n<p>Chandrayaan-3 was launched into an approximately 170 by 36,500-kilometer elliptical parking orbit inclined 21.3 degrees around Earth. From there, the spacecraft uses a fuel-efficient trajectory to get to the Moon. This trajectory involves an orbit around Earth that gradually increases its apogee for around 17 days until the spacecraft performs a trans-lunar injection burn.<\/p>\n<p>Chandrayaan-3 is expected to reach lunar orbit on Aug. 5 with an on-time launch. Once in orbit, the spacecraft will gradually lower its orbital apogee until the spacecraft enters a 100-kilometer circular lunar orbit. This process will take just under three weeks to accomplish.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94733\" class=\" wp-image-94733\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0752.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"833\" height=\"554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0752.png 1063w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0752-350x233.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0752-525x350.png 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0752-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0752-585x390.png 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0752-263x175.png 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 833px) 100vw, 833px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-94733\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Chandrayaan-3 lander and propulsion module stacked together for flight. (Credit: ISRO)<\/p>\n<p>The Chandrayaan-3 mission includes a lander and a rover, but not an orbiter like Chandrayaan-2. The spacecraft consists of the 1,726-kilogram <em>Vikram<\/em> lander, the 26-kilogram <em>Pragyan<\/em> rover, and the 2,148-kilogram Propulsion Module.<\/p>\n<p>The Propulsion Module, equipped with a solar panel generating 758 watts for a 440 Newton hypergolic liquid engine, can not only get the mission to the Moon but also can relay communications from the lander to Earth while in lunar orbit. The module uses an S-band telemetry, tracking, and command antenna to communicate with Earth, and is designed for a three to six-month mission.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Vikram<\/em> lander, with the <em>Pragyan<\/em> rover on board, is scheduled to detach from the Propulsion Module and land on the lunar surface on Aug. 23. The target landing site is in the Moon\u2019s south polar region, near 69.37 south latitude and 32.35 east longitude. The south polar region has received a great deal of interest due to water ice in permanently shadowed craters, and Artemis III is scheduled to land at a location within the region.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94756\" class=\" wp-image-94756\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0754.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"810\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0754.png 597w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0754-350x215.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0754-571x350.png 571w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0754-180x110.png 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-94756\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two views of the Integrated Module, which will fly the lander, rover, and Propulsion Module as a unit to the Moon. (Credit: ISRO)<\/p>\n<p>After <em>Vikram<\/em> detaches from the Propulsion Module, it will use its four engines to deorbit and land on the surface. This lander will have four engines, as opposed to five on the <em>Vikram<\/em> lander for the failed Chandrayaan-2 landing, and will be equipped with a laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) to assist in making a successful landing.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the LDV, the lander for Chandrayaan-3 is equipped with Ka-band and laser altimeters, an accelerometer, star sensors, an inclinometer, a touchdown sensor, and hazard avoidance cameras to be used during the landing process. The four engines, utilizing hypergolic propellant, generate 800 Newtons of thrust each. After Chandrayaan-2\u2019s failure, the landing legs received additional reinforcement.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94760\" class=\" wp-image-94760\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0758.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"971\" height=\"971\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0758.png 1100w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0758-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0758-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 971px) 100vw, 971px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-94760\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged Chandrayaan-2\u2019s crash site from orbit. (Credit: NASA\/Goddard\/Arizona State University)<\/p>\n<p>The Chandrayaan-2 landing attempt in September 2019 failed due to a software issue. New software was needed after a fifth engine was added to the lander, and there are questions surrounding the testing of that software. The lander hit the surface of the Moon at a much higher speed than allowed for a safe touchdown.<\/p>\n<p>Once the Chandrayaan-3 <em>Vikram<\/em> lander touches down, assuming all goes well, India will have become the fourth nation to conduct a successful robotic lunar landing on the Moon, after the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.<\/p>\n<p>India, Japan, and Israel have, in the last few years, attempted landings that ended in failure, while the Russian Federation \u2014 which inherited most of the infrastructure of the Soviet program \u2014 is scheduled to fly the Luna 25 landing mission in August. The Chandrayaan-2, HAKUTO-R, and Beresheet landers have demonstrated the difficulty and hazards that can be encountered during lunar landings.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94754\" class=\" wp-image-94754\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0751.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"914\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0751.png 960w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0751-350x197.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0751-622x350.png 622w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0751-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 914px) 100vw, 914px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-94754\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The science instruments on board the Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover. (Credit: ISRO)<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Vikram<\/em> lander, measuring 200 by 200 by 116.6 centimeters, features four scientific instruments. The Chandra\u2019s Surface Thermophysical Experiment will measure the lunar surface\u2019s thermal properties, while the Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity monitors seismic activity near the landing site.<\/p>\n<p>The Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) is a Langmuir probe intended to study the gas and plasma environment on the Moon, and NASA has provided a passive laser retroreflector array for precise measurements of the Moon\u2019s distance from Earth. Similar reflectors have been flown on other missions, including the Apollo crewed lunar landings.<\/p>\n<p>These instruments will utilize the power from the aforementioned side-mounted solar panels, which generate a total of 738 watts. What\u2019s more, the lander will use an X-band antenna to communicate experiment results and spacecraft status to Earth, with the orbiting Propulsion Module serving as a relay and the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter as a backup option.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94763\" class=\" wp-image-94763\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0759.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"916\" height=\"718\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0759.png 638w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0759-350x275.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0759-446x350.png 446w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 916px) 100vw, 916px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-94763\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Illustration showing the Pragyan rover and its components. (Credit: ISRO)<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Pragyan<\/em> rover, measuring 91.7 by 75 by 39.7 centimeters, will carry an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope. These experiments will be powered by a solar panel generating 50 watts of power, and the rover will communicate with the <em>Vikram<\/em> lander using Rx\/Tx antennas. The rover will use six wheels on a rocker-bogie wheel drive assembly.<\/p>\n<p>The APXS has been used on other spacecraft in the past, including the <em>Sojourner<\/em> rover \u2014 the first wheeled rover on Mars. The <em>Pragyan<\/em> rover will also use a rectangular chassis, and will generally resemble <em>Sojourner<\/em> with the exception of the solar panel moving to the side. <em>Pragyan<\/em> will be a pathfinder for future rovers much like <em>Sojourner<\/em> was, and this will be India\u2019s second attempt to fly a rover to the lunar surface. An identical <em>Pragyan<\/em> rover was destroyed during the Chandrayaan-2 landing failure.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94758\" class=\" wp-image-94758\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0756.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1029\" height=\"686\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0756.png 1500w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0756-350x233.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0756-525x350.png 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0756-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0756-1170x780.png 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0756-585x390.png 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0756-263x175.png 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1029px) 100vw, 1029px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-94758\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s impression of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface. (Credit: ISRO)<\/p>\n<p>The mission is scheduled to last 14 Earth days, which is equal to one full lunar day. During this time, <em>Pragyan<\/em> is targeted to rove 500 meters, and <em>Vikram<\/em> would be using its instruments to study the local lunar environment. The Propulsion Module will not only relay communications from <em>Vikram<\/em> but also use its own scientific instrument, the Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth, to study Earth from lunar orbit.<\/p>\n<p>The Chandrayaan-3 mission will become the first mission to ever land in the Moon\u2019s south polar region if it successfully lands before Luna 25, which is also expected to land in the south polar region. The NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services program is also funding future robotic landers to the south polar region as the world\u2019s space agencies research the possible landings and bases the region\u2019s water ice supplies would allow for in the future.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Lead image: Chandrayaan-3 and its LVM3 launch. Credit: ISRO)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander launched from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. This will be India\u2019s second attempt to successfully perform a lunar landing after the Chandrayaan-2 lander failed during its descent. The Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) rocket lifted off Friday, July [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4540,301,525,8102,137,1681,625,2529,3857,8100,2530],"class_list":["post-24239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-chandrayaan-3","tag-india","tag-isro","tag-lander","tag-lunar","tag-lvm3","tag-moon","tag-pragyan","tag-rover","tag-south-pole","tag-vikram"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24239"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24239\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}