Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, is ready for launch, according to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Read all updates on Chandrayaan-3, including the launch date, time, location, key features, and other important information.
On July 14 at 2.35 p.m. IST, the Chandrayaan-3 mission will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota by the ISRO.
ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission is a large-scale operation. This mission’s main goal is to deploy a lander and rover in the highlands close to the Moon’s South Pole in order to showcase its end-to-end landing and roaming capabilities.
The lander Vikram and rover Pragyaan of the Chandrayaan-3 are expected to touchdown on the Moon on either August 23 or 24. Chandrayaan-3 will enter lunar orbit approximately a month after its launch. Notably, Chandrayaan-2’s landing site was close to the south pole of the lunar surface at latitude of 70 degrees for the most recent mission. The Chandrayaan-3 will be the very first mission to soft-land close to the lunar south pole if everything goes according to plan.
This lunar mission is a follow-up to Chandrayaan-2, which was launched in September 2019 but crashed on the moon’s surface when the soft-landing attempt failed due to issues with the onboard computer and propulsion system.
According to the ISRO, Chandrayaan-3 will be launched by the Launch Vehicle Mark III (LVM3), also called the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III, on Friday, July 14 at 2:35 pm IST. It will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.
The 3900-kilogramme Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is made up of a lander, a rover and a propulsion module. The rover is comparable to the Vikram rover from Chandrayaan-2, although upgrades have been implemented to ensure a secure landing. The budget of the entire mission of the launch of Chandrayaan-3 is Rs. 615 crore.