Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to land on the lunar south pole on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 6:04 pm IST, marking a historic moment for India. Chandrayaan-3, which consists of the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, is expected to operate on the lunar surface for one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 Earth days. The objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are 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.
The entire country is eagerly waiting for Chandrayaan-3's landing because this historic moment will make India the first country to softly land a spacecraft on the lunar south pole. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will start the live streaming event for Chandrayaan-3's landing at 5:20 pm IST on August 23. People can watch the livestream online on the official YouTube channel of ISRO, on the space agency's official website, or official Facebook account, or on DD National.
On August 20, 2023, the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully performed its final de-boosting manoeuvre, reaching an orbit of 25 km × 134 km. The module, which consists of the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover, will attempt a lunar landing at lunar sunrise.
The period before touchdown is critical, and involves complex manoeuvres. The last 15 minutes before Chandrayaan-3's Moon landing are known as the '15 minutes of terror'.
The final descent phase is the one in which the Vikram lander will hover above the lunar surface at a distance of around 150 metres. If everything goes to plan, the Vikram lander will commit to the 73-second descent that will make its historic touchdown.
Once the Vikram lander successfully lands on the lunar south pole, the sensors will signal the computer onboard the spacecraft. After this, the lander will be powered up completely, and Vikram will unfurl the rover ramp so that the Pragyan rover can embark on its lunar journey.