A Bold Vision, Lessons From Setback, And Then An Emphatic First: India’s Chandrayaan Journey And What Lies Ahead
India made history as its Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the South Pole region of the lunar surface.
New Delhi: India made history on Wednesday evening as its Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon's South Pole, making it the first country to have achieved this historic feat.
As the nation witnessed the history in making, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined from South Africa where he is currently present to attend the 15th BRICS Summit. "We are witness to the new flight of new India. New history has been written. This is a moment to cherish forever. India is now on the moon," PM Modi said in opening remarks.
"Kabhi kaha jata tha chanda mama bahut door ke hain, ab ek din wo bhi ayega jab bacche kaha karenge chanda mama bass ek tour ke hain (Once upon a time it was said that Chanda Mama (Moon) is far away. Now, one day too will come when children will say that the Moon is just a tour away)," the Prime Minister added.
How The Journey Started
The Chandrayaan 1 mission was started with the agenda of finding water on the Moon which has now become a reality with Chandrayaan-3's successful landing on the south pole of the Earth's only natural satellite. Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to Moon, was launched successfully on October 22, 2008 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. The spacecraft carried 11 scientific instruments built in India, USA, UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria.
Audacious Vision
The area has large quantities of ice, which can be utilised to extract water, oxygen, and fuel for future crewed missions to the moon. The objectives of Chandrayaan-3 were to demonstrate soft landing and roving on the lunar surface, conduct in-situ experiments on the lunar soil and water, and demonstrate technologies that can be used for future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.
As per the ISRO's website, the spacecraft "will measure the near-surface plasma (ions and electrons) density and its changes with time; carry out the measurements of thermal properties of the lunar surface near-polar region; ensure seismicity around the landing site and delineating the structure of the lunar crust and mantle; derive the chemical Composition and infer mineralogical composition to further our understanding of Lunar-surface, and will determine the elemental composition of Lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site".
Learning For Setbacks
After Chandrayan-2's unsuccessful attempt to land on the moon in 2019, India learned from the "fifteen minutes of terror" and made it a stepping stone to success. In order to ensure that Chandrayaan-3 is a success, ISRO made some changes in the design and capabilities of Vikram, including reinforced landing legs, enhanced sensors, an expanded solar array, sophisticated software, enhanced engine throttling, and optimised engine configuration.
Historic First
With the successful landing on the southern pole region of the lunar surface, India joined an elite club of countries to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, after the US, Russia, and China, and became the first country to land in the lunar south pole region.
What Lies Ahead
Lauding the scientists, ISRO Director S Somnath said that the success of the project will pave the way for similar space missions on Venus and Mars. Stating that the landing velocity was less than the targeted 2 m/sec, the ISRO chief said the achievement has given great hope for future missions. The next 14 days of experiments by the instruments on the lander and rover will be exciting, he added.
After Chandrayaan-3's successful landing, S Somanath said that the Indian space agency's next goal is the Aditya-L1 mission. Aditya-L1 will be India's first space-based mission to study the Sun, and will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 of the Sun-Earth system.
Female Participation
About 54 female engineers/scientists worked in the mission as associate and deputy project directors and project managers of various systems working at different centers.
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