Chandrayaan-3, the successor mission to Chandrayaan-2, is scheduled to be launched on Friday, July 14.
Chandrayaan-3 lift-off (File Photo: Twitter | ISRO)
Chandrayaan-3, the successor mission to Chandrayaan-2, is scheduled to be launched on Friday, July 14. The Moon mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) seeks to plant a lander and a rover on the highlands of the Moon near its south pole and showcase end-to-end landing and roaming capabilities.
Chandrayaan-3 will be launched on Friday at 2:45 IST by the Launch Vehicle Mark III (LVM3), also called the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III.
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LVM3-M4 and Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft vehicle assembly electrical testing have been finished. Anyone interested in viewing the launch live from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre’s Launch View Gallery can do so by registering at ivg.shar.gov.in/.
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Interested candidates can stream the launch online in real time on the ISRO official YouTube channel or Doordarshan. According to S Somanath, the chairman of ISRO, Chandrayaan-3 is anticipated to soft-land on the Moon either on August 23 or 24.
The goals of Chandrayaan-3 include conducting in-situ scientific experiments, developing and testing new technologies needed for interplanetary missions, and showing a safe, soft landing and roving features on the lunar surface.
The Chandrayaan-3 lander was built to be able to deploy the rover, whose purpose is to do in-situ chemical study of the lunar surface, after softly landing on the Moon at a designated location. By use of the propulsion module, the lander module will be carried to the final 100-kilometer circular orbit. The lander and propulsion module will split apart once they have reached this orbit.
The forthcoming expedition is intended to investigate the lunar south pole, which has piqued scientists’ curiosity greatly due to its perpetual darkness.
ISRO is making an attempt to soft-land on the surface of the Moon for the second time. Its predecessor, Chandrayaan-2, had the same goal but crashed as it descended.
If the planned lunar mission is successful, India would become just the fourth country to successfully land and rove on the Moon’s surface.
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