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According to the Indian Space Research Organisation chairman, the “main target” of the country’s next Chandrayaan-3 moon mission, scheduled to launch later this year, “is going to be accurate landing.” The Chandrayaan-2 mission’s descent and rover component suffered a problem just before touchdown, causing it to crash land and be completely destroyed. The Chandrayaan-3 mission is anticipated to launch in the middle of 2024, months only after Indian Space Research Organization finished critical testing on the vessel. S Somnath, the head of the Indian space agency, said that Chandrayaan 3, India’s third celestial mission, will most likely launch by the middle of 2024.
In order to illustrate end-to-end aptitudes in safe landing and traveling on the astral surface, Chandrayaan 3 is a supplement mission to Chandrayaan-2. It is made up of the Luna and Rover arrangement. According to Somanath, it will consist of a navigator, a rover, and a probe, much like Chandrayaan-2. All of the freights from Chandrayaan-2 are not extant on the satellite.
Only a small amount of payload will be carried. Thus far, getting the spacecraft to the moon’s surface and getting it to land is the main objective. A perfect landing is anticipated to be Chandrayaan-3’s main goal. There is now a lot of work being done in this direction, including the development of new instruments, improved algorithms, and failure mode management.
Chandrayaan 2’s Failure
The Chandrayaan 2 expedition was unsuccessful due to a last-minute software error. Based on an internal assessment sent to the Space Commission, the Vikram Spacecraft’s tracking software malfunctioned and caused it to crash down on the moon’s surface. Chandrayaan 2 was developed by that of the Indian Space Research Organization to soft-land a rover on the moon. However, the Rover lost control 500 meters from the surface and crashed. The lander, whose job it was to survey the moon’s surface and transmit data for 14 days, is still missing. The program had been working perfectly during its trial time, so the error came as a surprise.
In order to correct the errors and launch Chandrayaan 2 once more as soon as the third rover is created, the ISRO has set in place a mission. The organization will create a brand-new lander and rover that will be connected to the Probe that is orbiting the moon.
Despite the setback, the Chandrayaan 2 mission achieved several significant milestones, including the successful launch and insertion of the spacecraft into lunar orbit, and the deployment of the lander and rover. The orbiter, which remains in lunar orbit, has been sending back data and images, providing valuable insights into the moon’s geology and mineral composition.
ISRO has learned important lessons from the Chandrayaan 2 mission, and it is working on the next lunar mission, Chandrayaan 3, which is expected to launch later this year. The mission will build upon the successes of Chandrayaan 2 and will aim to land a rover on the lunar surface, using a new approach that minimizes the risk of a failure.
Chandrayaan 3’s Main Objective
Chandrayaan 3 will be escorting a lander and a spacecraft when it bursts out into space. No space probes like Chandrayaan 2 will be present in it. India is interested in exploring the surface of the Moon, especially in areas that haven’t seen daylight in a few million years. Scientists and astronomers believe that these darker areas of the planet’s surface may include ice and plush mineral reserves.
This exploration will also aim to look at the earth’s atmosphere and subsurface in addition to the surface. The rover of this spacecraft will communicate with Earth through an orbiter recovered from Chandrayaan 2. It will take photos of the surface at quite a distance of ten km from the geostationary orbit in order to study it. Four accelerated engines will run the Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft. It will also be equipped with a velocity meter.
The lander and rover will be designed to make a “hard landing” on the moon’s surface, which means they will crash onto the surface at a high speed instead of attempting a soft landing. This new approach is being taken to minimize the risk of a failure, such as the one experienced during the Chandrayaan 2 mission.
Once the lander and rover are on the lunar surface, they will conduct experiments to study the composition of the lunar soil and rock. The rover will also explore the lunar surface and collect samples for further analysis.
Overall, Chandrayaan 3’s main objective is to continue India’s exploration of the moon and to advance our understanding of the lunar surface and its geological history. The mission will also serve as a testbed for new technologies and techniques that could be used in future lunar missions.
