India’s Chandrayaan-3 moon mission to lift off on July 14
Chandrayaan 3
On September 6, 2019, the hopes of over a billion people were riding onboard a mission headed to the far side of the Moon, a region that has remained permanently in the shadows. Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander was cruising to its destination over 3,84,400 km away from home. Then it went silent.
The spacecraft was lost and the entire nation saw how the mood turned sombre in the mission control at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). Nearly four years since that fateful night, India is on the cusp of giving it another shot.
A new mission to soft-land on the surface of the Moon: Chandrayaan 3
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will launch the ambitious Chandrayaan-3 to the Moon. The launch is expected in mid-July, but a date has yet to be released. The Chandrayaan-3 probe will attempt a feat that only three countries have achieved so far: soft land on the lunar surface.
As India plans to explore the polar region of the Moon, we look at the impressive package India is sending to our next-door cosmic neighbour.
GO FOR LAUNCH
The Chandrayaan 3 mission will be launched onboard the heaviest version of the Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV). Known as the ‘Bahubali’ of rockets, GSLV Mk-III will launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota with the 3,900-kilogram spacecraft packed into the payload fairing to escape Earth’s gravity.
The 43.5-metre-tall rocket was previously used to launch Chandrayaan-2 and ensured a job well done back then as well. GSLV-Mk III is a three-stage vehicle with two solid strap-on boosters, a liquid core stage, and a high-thrust cryogenic upper stage. The rocket is capable of placing a 4-tonne-class satellite of the GSAT series into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits, payloads weighing 8,000 kg into Low Earth Orbit, and has a gross lift-off weight of 640 tonnes.
In order to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and wandering on the lunar surface, Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up mission to Chandrayaan-2. It is configured with Landers and Rovers. LVM3 will launch it out of SDSC SHAR in Sriharikota. The lander and rover configuration will be propelled by the propulsion module up to a 100 kilometre lunar orbit. To examine the spectral and Polarimetric data of Earth from the lunar orbit, the propulsion module is equipped with the Spectro-Polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload.
Lander payloads :- The lander carries a few important scientific instruments on board. One of them is called Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), which helps us measure how heat moves through the lunar surface and its temperature. Another instrument is the Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA), which helps us study the seismic activity in the area where the lander lands. We also have a device called the Langmuir Probe (LP), which helps us estimate the density of plasma and how it changes over time. Additionally, there’s a special Laser Retroreflector Array provided by NASA that allows us to conduct lunar laser ranging studies.
Roller payloads :- The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) are two advanced instruments used to analyze the elements present in the area around the landing site. These tools help scientists determine the specific composition of different substances by examining the particles and X-rays emitted when they are subjected to laser-induced breakdown.
