ISRO Successfully Launches Chandrayaan-3 for Lunar Mission
Sriharikota, 14/7 – For its ambitious lunar mission, ISRO has successfully launched Chandrayaan-3. The launch took place on Friday at 2:35 PM from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre using the LVM-3 rocket. If Chandrayaan-3 successfully lands on the Moon’s surface, India will make history as the first country to reach the Moon’s southern pole. So far, the spacecraft has already crossed 36,500 km and entered its designated orbit. It has now begun its journey toward the Moon and is expected to reach the lunar surface after a 40-day journey, around August 23.
According to the mission plan, the lander named Vikram will land on the Moon on August 23 at approximately 5:47 PM. A successful landing will mark a major milestone for India, making it the first country to achieve a soft landing on the southern region of the Moon. The successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 has fulfilled the dreams of millions of Indians. After reaching its orbit, ISRO Chairman S. Somanath confirmed that the spacecraft has entered its intended path. He expressed confidence that the initial phase of the mission has been completed successfully and that the entire Chandrayaan-3 mission is on track.
Once landed, the Vikram lander will be controlled via ISRO’s telemetry center. It will remain active on the Moon’s surface for one lunar day, equivalent to 14 days on Earth, collecting crucial scientific data. If this mission succeeds, India will become the fourth country in the world to complete a successful lunar landing, after the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.
Chandrayaan-3 weighs a total of 3,900 kg. It consists of a lander named Vikram, a rover named Pragyan, and a propulsion module. In 2019, ISRO had launched Chandrayaan-2, but the mission ended in failure as the Vikram lander crash-landed and was destroyed during descent. ISRO Chairman Somanath stated that the organization has studied and learned from the failure of Chandrayaan-2, and those lessons have been applied to strengthen and improve the lander for Chandrayaan-3. The current lander has been reinforced to ensure a more stable and controlled soft landing on the Moon’s surface.
