Bengaluru: Chandrayaan-3 beat many odds to make a successful soft landing on the moon's surface last night, elevating India into the exclusive space club. India became the first nation to successfully land a spacecraft close to the South Pole of the moon after Russia's failed attempt at a lunar touchdown in the same region due to an engine problem
CHANDRAKANT 3
India attempted to land a spacecraft on the moon's surface for the third time. After Chandrayaan-2's lunar lander crashed in September 2019, the mission was classified as partially unsuccessful.
Since Chandrayaan-2 made a rough landing, according to ISRO Chief S Solana, they were unable to recover anything and had to start from scratch.
Successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 will launch India's nascent space industry to new heights: Analysts. NEW DELHI: A successful landing on the Moon's South Pole on August 23 will not only be a boost to India's prestige but is expected to launch the country's burgeoning space industry to new heights.
A day after becoming the first nation to land close to the South Pole, India's Moon rover has made its first contact with the lunar surface.
According to the space agency, Chandrayaan-3's rover "ramped down" from the lander and "India took a walk on the Moon!"
On schedule and successfully, the Vikas lander descended on Wednesday night.
With this, India joins the US, the former Soviet Union, and China as the only other nations to successfully conduct a soft landing on the moon.
The Vikas lander's belly was used to transport the 26 kg Pagan (the Sanskrit word for knowledge) rover to the Moon.
In order to allow Pragyaan to glide down to the lunar surface, panels on one side of Vikas opened once the dust from last night's landing had settled.
Now it will explore the craters and rocks, gathering vital information and taking pictures that will be transmitted back to Earth for study.
In order to investigate the chemical makeup of the soil and identify the minerals that are present on the lunar surface, Pagan is carrying two scientific equipment.
Pragyaan will only communicate with the lander, which will transmit the data to Chandrayaan-2's orbiter, which is still revolving about the Moon, for analysis.
The lander and rover will have 14 days of sunshine to charge their batteries because the touchdown occurs at the beginning of a lunar day. A lunar day is equivalent to just over four weeks on Earth.
They will stop operating and discharge once darkness falls. It is not yet known if they will reanimate when the following lunar day begins.
In addition, the lander is equipped with a number of scientific tools that will aid in understanding what occurs on the Moon's surface as well as above and below it.
Despite the fact that the moon is believed to contain significant amounts of minerals, Chandrayaan-3's main objective is to search for water. According to scientists, the enormous craters near the South Pole are perennially dry.
Chandrayaan-3's principal goals are likely to involve scientific study aimed at advancing our knowledge of the Moon's geological and mineralogical composition, even though precise mission details have not yet been formally revealed.
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