India became the fourth nation to set foot on the Moon and the first to do so at a lunar pole when its Chandrayaan-3 lander was safely landed on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3, which was launched by the Indian Space Resource Organization (ISRO) last month, touched down gently on the Moon’s south pole on August 23 at about 8:34 a.m. ET. An extremely interesting region of the Moon is to be thoroughly explored by the mission, but Chandrayaan-3 is the first spacecraft to actually visit this region. Water ice believed to exist in the lunar south pole may provide as a source of oxygen, fuel, and water for upcoming missions or perhaps a potential lunar base or colony.
Shortly after landing, the spacecraft sent back its first images from the lunar surface, as well as images captured during the descent:
P. Veeramuthuvel, the mission’s project director, declared after Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing that “the entire mission operations right from launch until landing happened flawlessly, as per the timeline.” “I would want to thank the navigation guidance and control team, the propulsion team, the sensors team, and the entire mainframe subsystems team for making this mission successful. I would also want to thank the critical operations review committee for its thorough examination of the mission’s operations from launch till the present. The evaluation procedure ensured that the target was accurate.
Since the launch on July 14, 2023, a crew from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been providing navigation and tracking support for ISRO through NASA’s Deep Space Network, as well as mission support in the years preceding launch. The Chandrayaan-3 project is also receiving deep space communication help from NASA and ESA.
The Pragyan rover, which will be launched by Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander, will investigate the lunar surface’s composition and search for water ice in the regolith while researching the Moon’s atmospheric evolution and the history of impacts. The rover will conduct a number of scientific experiments, including a spectrum examination of the minerals on the lunar surface, during the course of the mission, which is anticipated to last for one lunar day (14 days on Earth).
During a webcast that was broadcast after the landing, associate project director Kalpana Kalahasti said, “This will remain the most memorable and happy moment for all of us, for our team.” Since the day we started reassembling our spacecraft following the Chandrayaan 2 experience, we have successfully accomplished our mission. Our staff has been in and out of breath! Only due of the tremendous work put in by our Chandrayaan-3 team is this feasible. I appreciate all of the assistance from all of the departments.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi spoke to the team while watching the landing’s live video.
“To the people of the entire planet, to the people of every nation and territory: India’s successful Moon mission is not just India’s alone… Speaking during the ISRO broadcast of the ceremony, Modi stated, “This success belongs to all of humanity. “The Moon and beyond are within reach for all of us.”
