India Launches Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Landing Mission: An Unprecedented Feat

India has launched its latest lunar mission, the Chandrayaan-3, sending a spacecraft towards a planned landing next month on the lunar south pole. The mission is an ambitious endeavour, with the spacecraft being the first to land at the lunar south pole, an area of special interest for space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support a future space station. The mission would make India the fourth country to achieve a controlled lunar landing, following the United States, the former Soviet Union and China.

The Launch

On Friday, July 14, 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) LVM3 launch rocket blasted off from the country's main spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, leaving behind a plume of smoke and fire. The rocket successfully put the Chandrayaan-3 lander into an Earth orbit that will send it looping toward a moon landing next month.

The Indian spacecraft blazed its way to the far side of the moon Friday in a follow-up mission to its failed effort nearly four years ago to land a rover softly on the lunar surface. (Image Credit: Aijaz Rahi/AP/ISRO)

The launch is India's first major mission since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government announced policies to spur investment in space launches and related satellite-based businesses. Since 2020, when India opened to private launches, the number of space startups has more than doubled. Late last year, Skyroot Aerospace, whose investors include Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, launched India's first privately-built rocket.

The Mission

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is a 2-metre-tall lander designed to deploy a rover near the moon's south pole, where it is expected to remain functional for two weeks running a series of experiments. The lunar landing is expected on August 23, 2023. The mission's landing zone measures 2.5 miles by 1.5 miles and sits at 69.367621 south latitude and 32.348126 east longitude, which happens to be near the planned touchdown site of Russia's Luna 25 spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch in August.

The rocket launch is a follow-up to India's Chandrayaan-2 mission, which successfully deployed an orbiter but its lander and rover were destroyed in a crash near where the Chandrayaan-3 will attempt a touchdown. The Chandrayaan-3 mission represents India's second shot at gently landing on the moon's surface, a venture that comes nearly four years after Chandrayaan-2's lander-rover pair crashed into the moon due to a software glitch. Officials at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the country's national space agency, say they're confident of success this time around.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is part of a wider renewed international interest in the moon, with multiple nations competing to reach the moon and establish a long-term presence near its south pole.

Significance of the Mission

A successful Chandrayaan-3 landing would be an unprecedented feat and would advance India's position as a major space power. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft would be the first to land at the lunar south pole, an area of special interest for space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support a future space station. Lunar water ice could also be crucial for life support, making the south pole region a tantalizing target for moon bases.

India is hoping its lunar lander touches down on the surface of the Moon as part of its ongoing Chandrayaan program. (Image Credit: ISRO)

The Chandrayaan-3 mission would make India the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon after the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China. Additionally, the mission is a testament to India's growing ambition to become a leader in low-cost space exploration at a time when many nations are vying to establish a long-term presence on the moon.

The Journey to the Moon

The confidence of achieving the mission's objectives will be tested over the next month, as multiple firings of the spacecraft's thrusters stretch its egg-shaped path around Earth, increasing its speed until it can be hurled into the moon's orbit. Once there, precise manoeuvres must safely perch the lander-rover duo near the moon's south pole, a mainly uncharted region that India dreams of being the first to unveil.

"This mission is most significant in terms of ultimate precise landing capability of the Chandrayaan-3 lander on the specified lunar surface," said Arun Sinha, a former senior scientist at ISRO.

ISRO scientists are banking on a new algorithm encapsulated into Chandrayaan-3's software. Rather than interpret speed from static images as Chandrayaan-2 did, the new technology onboard Chandrayaan-3 is designed to estimate spacecraft speed in real-time as the probe descends toward the lunar surface.

The legs on the lander, which is named Vikram (Sanskrit for "valor"), have been strengthened to help it survive a slightly high landing speed. The area in which the spacecraft can touch down has also been significantly widened to allow some room for error and ultimately increase chances of success, ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said last week during a press briefing.

Assuming a safe touchdown, a six-wheeled rover named Pragyan (Sanskrit for "wisdom"), powered by its own tiny solar array and guided by cameras to avoid obstacles, will roll off Vikram onto the lunar surface. It is armed with a spectrometer to analyse lunar soil and rocks and a laser-induced spectroscope to zap its targets and derive their chemical composition. The rover and lander are both expected to operate for one lunar day (about two Earth weeks), from sunrise to sunset on the moon.

While the solar-powered robotic duo is not expected to survive a frigid night on the moon, "there are faint chances of extra-efficient battery charge," said Arun Sinha.

Importance of Lunar South Pole

The lunar south pole is of great interest to space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support a future space station. Lunar water ice could also be crucial for life support, making the south pole region a tantalising target for moon bases.

The area is thought to harbour abundant water ice, which scientists believe can be mined for rocket fuel. The presence of water ice in the south pole region could also help support human life. The Chandrayaan-3 mission would provide valuable data and insights that could help shape future lunar exploration and pave the way for future missions to the moon.

The International Interest in the Moon

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is part of a wider renewed international interest in the moon. Multiple nations are competing to reach the moon and establish a long-term presence near its south pole. Next month, Roscosmos plans to launch its Luna 25 lander. This is expected to be followed shortly after by Japan's launch of its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) mission.

Intuitive Machines plans to launch its IM-1 on a Falcon 9 later this year as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program later this year, while Astrobotic Technology's Mission One, also part of CLPS, could also launch before the end of the year on a ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket.

The Significance of the Mission to India

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a significant achievement for India, which has been steadily growing its space program since the launch of Chandrayaan-1 in 2008. The mission represents India's second shot at gently landing on the moon's surface, a venture that comes nearly four years after Chandrayaan-2's lander-rover pair crashed into the moon due to a software glitch. Officials at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the country's national space agency, say they're confident of success this time around.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is also part of India's growing ambitions to become a leader in low-cost space exploration. Since 2020, when India opened to private launches, the number of space startups has more than doubled. The mission would accelerate India's growing ambitions of low-cost space exploration during a time when many nations are vying to establish a long-term presence on the moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is an ambitious endeavour by India to become a major space power. The mission is part of a wider renewed international interest in the moon, with multiple nations competing to reach the moon and establish a long-term presence near its south pole. A successful Chandrayaan-3 landing would be an unprecedented feat and would advance India's position as a major space power.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft would be the first to land at the lunar south pole, an area of special interest for space agencies and private space companies because of the presence of water ice that could support a future space station. The mission would make India the fourth country to achieve a controlled lunar landing, following the United States, the former Soviet Union and China.