Chandrayaan has been ISRO’s ambitious project. This first Chandrayaan was launched in 2008 with the mission to launch an orbiter and an impactor. The orbiter remained in the moon’s orbit and the impactor was lowered to the south pole in a controlled manner. Followed by Chandrayan 2 in the year 2019. It was sent with a lander and a rower to land near the south pole site. The lander was named Vikram lander. But unfortunately due to a shift in trajectory while lowering into the orbit the lander crashed onto the surface of the moon. Now ISRO have launched chandrayaan-3 in 2023. In this article, we will look at 6 facts about Chandrayaan 3.
6 Facts about chandrayaan 3
Fact 1
Chandrayaan 3 is launched to complete Chandrayaan 2’s unsuccessful mission. It also consists of a lander and a rover to land on the lunar surface. It was launched on 14th July and will make a soft landing on 23rd August on the lunar surface.
Fact 2
The lunar lander will be supported by the GSLV Mark 3 heavy-lift launch vehicle, often referred to as the Bahubali rocket. The current name for the GSLV is Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LM-3), and it is 43.5 meters high. On August 23, the spacecraft is expected to land on the moon following a more than 40-day journey.
Fact 3
ISRO has improved the Chandrayaan-3 to make it more dependable than the previous model. The vehicle is made up of a propulsion module, the rover Pragyan, and the lander Vikram, which bears Vikram Sarabhai’s name. The Vikram Lander is around 280 Kg heavier than the prior model at 1,752 kg. ISRO has taken extra precautions, which is primarily why the weight was raised. Vikram carries extra fuel to stay on its targeted course to the moon’s surface to ensure a successful landing this time. The craft has undergone rigorous testing and is equipped with several safety precautions to guarantee that the mission is completed successfully in this attempt.
Fact 4
The Pragyan rover will be launched to conduct exploration when Chandrayaan-3 successfully touches down on the moon. A ramp will be used to release the rover from Vikram. Pragyan is a solar-powered, six-wheeled rover that has two spectrometers on board to analyze the lunar surface’s makeup. For around 14 Earth days, or about one lunar day of sunlight, it will circle the landing spot.
Fact 5
Now let’s get into the specifics of the lander Vikram. It has 4 major instruments such as a seismometer which is to detect moonquakes, while another one studies how heat moves through the moon’s surface. The last two instruments are used to study the plasma environment surrounding the moon, while the fourth instrument—a retroreflector—helps scientists better understand how the moon and Earth interact gravitationally.
Fact 6
NASA claims that the only countries in the world to have attempted to set foot on the Moon are the USSR, the US, China, and Israel. The USSR has had 12 failed attempts, but it has also had two successes. Five of the US’s eight landing missions have been successful. China has sent two attempts to land on the moon so far, and both of them were successful. Israel’s one and only attempt failed. India has sent two trips to the moon before, but neither of them landed on the moon.
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