Chandrayaan-3: India becomes the first country to land on the south pole of the Moon; To look

This Wednesday (23rd) morning, India made a second attempt to land a module on the Moon’s surface; The landing came just days after Russia’s lunar mission, which resulted in the complete destruction of Russia’s probe. Fortunately, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced: Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully landed on the moon.

During a live ISRO broadcast, India exhibited a historic moment, becoming the fourth country to land on our natural satellite. Let us remind you that the descent is fully programmed and automatic, meaning that the Chandrayaan-3 is not remotely operated during the descent.

In addition to being one of the few countries to set foot on the Moon, Chandrayaan-3 Considered the first research to detect human presence at the Moon’s South Pole. Indian scientists also sent the Pragyan rover to study the Moon’s surface, but the mission’s main task was to show that India was capable of landing on the satellite, and they did this very well without any unforeseen events.

“As the mission progressed, a series of maneuvers were planned to gradually narrow Chandrayaan-3’s orbit and position it above the lunar poles. After some maneuvers, the propulsion module will separate from the orbiting lander. Next, a series of complex braking maneuvers will be performed to facilitate a soft landing on the Moon’s south polar region on August 23, 2023,” explained in a statement from ISRO.

Chandrayaan-3 at the Moon’s south pole

The Vikram lander successfully landed on the Moon at 9:34 am (Brasília time) on August 23, 2023.. The vehicle was able to pass through all of the most dangerous areas, reduce its speed and land on the surface without any problems.

The lander was designed with four main scientific instruments, including thermal and atmospheric reading equipment, as well as a set of laser retroreflectors. Through these instruments, the spacecraft will measure high-precision information such as the Moon’s distance from Earth, earthquake signals, and even weaker seismic activity.

One of the mission’s main goals is to study the composition of the lunar surface using an X-ray spectrometry instrument.. The module and rover will also conduct further investigations of liquid water on the Moon’s surface, first detected by the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.

“We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary hard work, unmatched creativity and unwavering dedication of our scientists, aerospace engineers, researchers and all those who have contributed to making this mission a victory for India. The Congress party has always believed in advancing world peace and brotherhood, and the Vikram lander landing on the lunar surface, It is a serious testament to our determination to use science for peaceful and welfare purposes.” The government of India in a Twitter post.

moon pictures

Last Saturday (19), ISRO released something new Images revealing some details of the far side of the Moon relative to planet Earth. The images were photographed by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC) and reveal different geological formations of the lunar surface, such as the natural satellite’s classical craters.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

Here are the images
far side of the moon
captured by
Lander Hazard Detection and Evasion Camera (LHDAC).

Helping to find a safe landing site without rocks or deep ditches during landing, this camera was developed by ISRO… pic.twitter.com/rwWhrNFhHB

— ISRO (@isro) 21 August 2023

The LHDAC camera was also used to locate a safe landing area for the lunar module where there was not much obstruction. Soon, scientists will also release new photos directly from the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2

Initially, the Chandrayaan-1 mission was launched in mid-2008 when the Indians sent a probe and a satellite to collect different data from the Moon, such as surface composition, mapping data, among other information. To contain, probe detects liquid water in a specific area of ​​lunar soil – At a time when only frozen water was imagined on the lunar surface

Unfortunately, in the middle of the original timeline, the Indian space agency lost contact with the probe. But they classified the task as a success, as they managed to collect a few key data.

“Historical Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 confirmed the presence of water molecules on the lunar surface. Chandrayaan-2 detected the presence of chromium, manganese and sodium for the first time,” explains a message from the Indian government.

India’s first attempt to land a module on lunar soil came after the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 mission in mid-2019. Alongside the orbiter, a lander and a rover were also sent, but things didn’t go exactly as planned.

The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is still operational, but during the landing plan on September 6, 2019, the module was destroyed when it collided with lunar soil, a situation similar to what happened with the Russian module. So, just four years after the previous mission’s failure, ISRO was able to successfully land on the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

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