Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh): Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 lifted off today afternoon at 2.35 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The mission is India’s third lunar exploration mission and its goal is to soft-land a lander and rover on the moon. The spacecraft was launched on a GSLV Mark-3 rocket ‘Bahubali’. The lander named ‘Vikram’ carried the rover, ‘Pragyan’. The rover will be tasked with exploring the lunar surface for signs of water and other resources.
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up to the 2019 Chandrayaan-2 mission. It was successful in sending an orbiter and a lander to the moon, but the lander crashed during its final descent.
ISRO has made several changes to the Chandrayaan-3 mission. The lander has been redesigned to make it more stable during its descent.
The lander weighs about 2.4 tonnes and is equipped with a 10-foot-long robotic arm while the rover weighs about 270 kilograms and is equipped with a variety of instruments. The mission is expected to cost around Rs. 615 crore. GSLV Mark-3 rocket is India’s most powerful launch vehicle, capable of carrying a payload of up to 4 tonnes. The lander Vikram is named after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India’s space programme. The rover Pragyan is named after the Sanskrit word for ‘wisdom’.
This post was published on July 14, 2023 7:45 pm