Chandrayaan-3 Will Be Launched in July; Here’s What You Need to Know

Chandrayaan-3 will be launched in July this year, as confirmed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chief, Somnath, on Monday. The ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission by the Indian Space Research Organization aims to demonstrate critical technologies required to land the spacecraft on the Moon’s south pole in less than two months.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission carries a scientific instrument designed to study the thermo-physical properties of the lunar regolith, lunar seismicity, lunar surface plasma environment, and plasma and elemental composition in the vicinity of the landing site. ISRO officials informed PTI that the scientific instruments on the lander and the rover are aligned with the theme of ‘Science from the Moon’ and include spectro-polarimetric signatures of the Earth from the lunar orbit.

In March of this year, Chandrayaan-3 successfully completed all the tasks required to determine its capability to withstand the harsh vibration and acoustic environment typically encountered during launch. These tests are particularly challenging considering that the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, consisting of three modules – propulsion, lander, and rover – will be launched by the LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.

An ISRO official stated that Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2, aiming to maintain end-to-end capabilities for safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. The propulsion module, equipped with a spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth payload, will carry the lander and rover configuration until the lunar orbit reaches 100 km.

• The lander payloads include Chandra’s Surface “Thermophysical Experiment” to measure thermal conductivity and temperature, the ‘Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity’ to measure seismicity around the landing site, and the ‘Langmuir Probe’ to estimate plasma density and variations. Additionally, a passive Laser Retroreflector Array from the US space agency, NASA, is also included for lunar laser ranging studies.
• The rover payloads consist of the ‘Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer’ and ‘Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy’ for analyzing the elemental composition near the landing site.
• The main function of the propulsion module is to bring the lander module from the launch vehicle injection to the final lunar 100 km circular polar orbit and separate it. Furthermore, the propulsion module also includes a scientific payload that will be operated after the separation of the lander module.