India’s Chandrayaan-3 successfully achieved a historic lunar landing, marking it as the fourth country to accomplish this remarkable feat.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander gracefully touched down near the lunar South Pole region at 8:32 a.m. Eastern on Aug. 23, after a precise 19-minute powered descent from its lunar orbit.
With this achievement, India joins an elite group comprising the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China, as nations that have achieved soft landings on the moon.
The Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Mission Operations Complex witnessed joyous scenes following the triumphant landing.
“India is on the moon,” said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a moment of pride, as he waved the Indian tri-colored flag while watching the landing from South Africa, where he is participating in the BRICS nations summit.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
— ISRO (@isro) August 23, 2023
Updates:
The communication link is established between the Ch-3 Lander and MOX-ISTRAC, Bengaluru.
Here are the images from the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera taken during the descent. #Chandrayaan_3#Ch3 pic.twitter.com/ctjpxZmbom
Details of the Decent
The Vikram lander safely landed near a strategic site at coordinates 69.37 degrees south latitude and 32.35 degrees east longitude, near the Manzinus U crater. The European Space Agency’s ESTRACK deep space tracking station in New Norcia, Australia, supported the descent.
This significant landing achieved the highest latitude ever for a spacecraft’s soft landing on the moon. Notably, this success follows an unsuccessful attempt with the Chandrayaan-2 mission lander in 2019.
The landing coincided with Russia’s Luna 25 spacecraft encountering issues during an orbital maneuver, resulting in a crash landing on the moon.
Accompanying the lander is the Pragyan rover, a six-wheeled, 26-kilogram solar-powered vehicle designed to showcase roving capabilities on the lunar surface. The rover’s deployment is anticipated within the next few hours.
Live coverage
ISRO provided live coverage of the event, which began at 7:50 a.m. Eastern. The mission lander module initiated an automatic landing sequence at 8:14 a.m., activating its throttleable engines for a powered descent from an altitude of approximately 30 kilometers.
India becomes the fourth nation ever to land a spacecraft on the moon. The successful attempt comes days after Russia's failed lunar mission. https://t.co/BmUYmRAuAi pic.twitter.com/uZ6rUZhT6h
— CNN (@CNN) August 23, 2023
Key objectives of Chandrayaan-3
Although primarily a landing technology demonstration, the lander and rover carry numerous payloads for in-situ scientific experiments. These payloads include instruments to measure plasma density, thermal properties of the lunar surface, lunar seismic activity, and more.
Both spacecraft will conduct activities and experiments during the roughly 12 days of lunar sunlight, although survival through the frigid lunar nighttime, with temperatures plummeting to around minus 130 Celsius, is not expected.
Chandrayaan-3 launched on July 14 using a LVM-3 heavy-lift rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, embarking on a complex journey that culminated in this successful landing. This mission’s success is particularly significant amidst the renewed global interest in lunar exploration, especially regarding the lunar south pole and its potential water-ice resources.
India first to land an aircraft near the Moon’s south pole
On Wednesday, India further achieved an unprecedented milestone by becoming the first nation to successfully land a spacecraft near the southern pole of the Moon. This historic expedition ventures into unexplored terrain, potentially harboring crucial reservoirs of frozen water.
“India has reached the south pole of the moon — no other country has achieved that. We are witnessing history,” Modi proclaimed.
The accomplishment not only signified a remarkable technological victory but also underscored the prowess of the world’s most populous country.