Triumph at the Lunar South Pole: Chandrayaan-3’s Historic Journey and Scientific Pioneering
Being the first expedition to set foot on the lunar south pole, the ISRO mission marked history. Just three other nations have ever carried out a lunar soft landing.
The Chandrayaan-3 project, which was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) through the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, has arrived at its destination after a 40-day voyage. On August 23 at 6:04 PM IST, the soft lunar landing of the Vikram lander took place.
The Vikram lander collapsed into the surface of the moon during the Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019, which will be replaced by the Chandrayaan-3 mission. The mission’s main goal is to demonstrate the space agency’s ability to carry out a soft landing on the surface of the Moon. With the expedition, India is now among a select group of nations that have successfully soft-landed.
Following the accomplishment of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed gratitude to ISRO scientists.
He noted that India had now arrived at the Moon and believed it was a time to cherish forever. He referred to it as the start of a new age for India and said that the achievement was shared by all countries, demonstrating the universal appeal of the “one earth, one family, one future” philosophy. Since no other country had ever accomplished the task of landing on the south side of the moon, PM Modi predicted that it would change the way people perceive the moon.
You can also read about the ‘Rocket Woman’ Behind the Chandrayaan-3 Mission.
Bezos, the CEO of Blue Origin, expressed his support for India by stating, “Root for India! via Instagram’s Threads platform, “Good luck, Chandrayaan-3.” This remark was provided in response to the mission post from ISRO.
Similar to this, Newsthink made an intriguing remark on X that the budget for Chandrayaan-3, which is $75 million, is in fact lower than the expenditure for the movie Interstellar, which totals $165 million. Musk’s response was brief and upbeat as he said, “Good for India,” and he accompanied that with an emoji representing the Indian tricolor.
Given the multitude of obstacles it overcame, Chandrarayaan 3’s incredible feat in landing on the south pole of the lunar surface is all the more noteworthy. Finding ideal landing places was an uphill battle due to the difficult terrain, which consisted of craters and surfaces that were uneven.
Furthermore, the continual darkness brought on by prolonged shadowing called for innovative power sources other than conventional solar panels. As a result, specialist equipment had to be designed to withstand the intense temperatures, which may dip as low as -173°C during lunar nights. Missions changes and orders from Earth were delayed as a result of connectivity difficulties caused by the moon’s curvature.
Last but not least, for a secure landing, rigorous landing mechanics were required because to the complex interaction of gravity being low and uneven terrain. The success of Chandrayaan 3 in overcoming these several challenges highlights its mechanical prowess and aptitude for navigating the difficulties of lunar missions.
The accomplishment of Chandrayaan-3 not only represented another historic accomplishment for India but also opened up new vistas for scientific investigation and discovery, influencing lunar study in the process.
Article By: Debanjana Talukdar
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