Historic Touchdown: Chandrayan 3

AGRITA CHHIBBER

The Chandrayaan-3 mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully landed after a 40-day voyage that began at the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. On August 23, at 6:04 PM IST, the Vikram lander should have achieved a smooth lunar landing.

At 5.44 PM IST, ISRO initiated the automated landing sequence. Currently, the Vikram lander is making an attempt to land softly on the Moon by using its internal processors and logic. The onboard systems of the lander will be conducting all the work, while mission controllers at ISTRAC will be attentively watching it.

The Vikram lander crashed into the lunar surface during the Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019, which is followed by the Chandrayaan-3 mission. The mission’s main goal is to demonstrate the space agency’s ability to carry out a gentle landing on the Moon. India’s effort places them in a select group of nations that have accomplished a soft landing on the moon. The Soviet Union, China, and the United States are the club’s only current members.

THE CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION OF INDIA:

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The Chandrayaan-3 is pointed at the lunar south pole, where there is water ice, or frozen water, which might serve as a source of oxygen, fuel, and water for upcoming moon missions or a more long-term lunar colony.

If it lands properly, Chandrayaan-3 should continue operating for two weeks while conducting a number of experiments, including a spectrometer investigation of the lunar surface’s mineral composition. The Chandrayaan-3 lander is roughly the size of an SUV, standing around 2 metres tall and weighing slightly over 1,700 kg (3,747.86 lb). It is intended to launch a 26-kg lunar rover that is smaller.

According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the American space agency is “looking forward” to the lessons that the Indian mission will provide.

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 include the Langmuir Probe (LP), Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA), and Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), which measures thermal conductivity and temperature. For lunar laser ranging investigations, space agency NASA has provided a passive Laser Retroreflector Array.

Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) are rover payloads that are used to determine the elemental composition close to the landing site.

CHANDRAYAAN-3’S FAILURE-BASED DESIGN:

In order to secure a successful and safe landing, ISRO implemented the “failure-based design,” which focuses on potential failure scenarios and how to defend the mission against adversities.

The five engines of Chandrayaan-2’s lander produced more thrust than anticipated, according to ISRO Chief S Somanath, which caused a number of mistakes. The craft then accelerated to change its direction. Furthermore, the precise landing area, 500×500 sq mt, was a very small space. The spacecraft’s ability to turn was reduced, and a high-velocity landing was required.

The landing area has been enlarged to 4 km by 2.5 km with Chandrayaan-3. As a result, the spaceship has a larger landing zone in case something goes wrong. Additionally, Chandrayaan-3 has been given more fuel so that, if necessary, it can move to an other landing spot.

Additionally, Chandrayaan-3 includes more solar panels to assure power generation regardless of where it falls. Additionally, the vertical velocity component was raised from 2 to 3 metres per second.

Additionally, the landing procedure has been simplified. Chandrayaan-3 won’t perform any computations to determine the landing location. At the landing site, any necessary adjustments to stay clear of objects greater than 30 cm will be made.

CHANGES TO ENSURE CHANDRAYAAN’S SUCCESS:

ISRO has modified Vikram’s design and functionalities in order to assure the success of Chandrayaan-3. The likelihood of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram landing on the south pole of the Moon is anticipated to rise as a result of these tactical improvements.

Reinforced landing legs, improved sensors, an extended solar array, advanced software, improved engine throttling, and optimised engine configuration are just a few of the modifications ISRO has undertaken to ensure Vikram lands on the Moon safely.

“Instead of the five 800 Newton motors that Vikram had on Chandrayaan-2, Vikram on Chandrayaan-3 would have four throttleable engines.

According to Debadatta Mishra, a former ISRO scientist and co-founder of Erisha Space, a New Delhi-based space technology company, “ISRO has added a Laser Doppler Velocimeter for precise guidance during the autonomous landing manoeuvre, the landing legs have been strengthened, and redundancy has been added to ensure an autonomous landing even if all sensors and engines fail to operate.”

PRAYERS OFFERED AT MAHAKAL TEMPLE AND AJMER SHARIF:

A special Bhasma Aarti was held on Wednesday at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain in honor of Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing. On the other hand, individuals prayed at the Ajmer Dargah Sharif.

At 6:40 PM today, Chandrayaan-3 will touch down on the South Pole of the Moon. The period of worship and prayer is ongoing both domestically and abroad for its success. For Chandrayaan-3, havan-pujas were held in temples all around the nation. Mosques were used to offer prayers. Additionally, schoolchildren prayed for this.

A special Bhasma Aarti was held on Wednesday at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain in honour of Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing. On the other hand, individuals prayed at the Ajmer Dargah Sharif.

Agrita Chhibber is from Jammu

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