India launches Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon – 07/14/2023 – Science

India launched this Friday (14), from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Chandrayaan-3 (“Lunar Spacecraft-3”), whose mission is to perform a soft landing on the Moon.

The launch took place on the island of Sriharikota, in the southeastern region of the country. It was broadcast in real time by Isro (Indian space agency) on its YouTube channel and followed in the vicinity of the base by hundreds of people.

The descent of Chandrayaan-3 should take place between August 22nd and 23rd, in a region close to the lunar south pole, and if successful, it will make India the fourth country to promote a landing on the satellite. To date, only the United States, Russia and China have managed to carry out unmanned smooth descents on lunar soil.

“Chandrayaan-3 writes a new chapter in India’s space odyssey. It soars, elevating the dreams and ambitions of all Indians. This momentous achievement is a testament to the tireless dedication of our scientists. I salute their spirit and ingenuity!” wrote on Twitter the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who is on an official trip to France.

Launched on an LVM3 rocket, also developed by the Indians, Chandrayaan-3 repeats the profile of Chandrayaan-2, which failed in its attempt to land in 2019.

By the model, the spacecraft is placed in an elliptical Earth orbit that is gradually widened until departure to the Moon, and then approaches in a downward spiral around the satellite.

After settling into a circular orbit about 100 km above the Moon’s surface, the Vikran (“Valor”) lander begins final approach, while a separate propulsion module remains in lunar orbit to relay radio signals from the lander. .

The project has an estimated cost of US$ 77 million and the expectation with the landing, in addition to securing fourth place, is to carry out analyzes of the composition of the lunar surface.

Fourth place

Other countries have also tried to land their equipment on the Moon. Israel operated the Beresheet module until it collided with the surface in April 2019, and this year Japan also came close.

The Japanese spacecraft was launched in December 2022 from Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA) on a SpaceX rocket. The trip went as planned and the module appeared ready to land, but communication was lost and the crews concluded that the descent had failed.

According to the chief executive and founder of ispace, Takeshi Hakamada, the learnings from the first mission will help in the next landing attempt, scheduled for 2024.