ISRO To Launch Chandrayaan-3 In July, Chairman S Somanath Says. All About The Moon Mission

Chandrayaan-3, which consists of a lander and rover, aims to demonstrate capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. ISRO aims to launch Chandrayaan-3 in July.

The objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are to demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, conduct in-situ scientific experiments, and demonstrate rover landing on the Moon. The lander aims to make a soft landing. The rover will conduct in-situ chemical analysis.

Source : ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation is gearing up for the launch of Chandrayaan-3, the follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2. Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled for launch in July, S Somanath, the chairman of ISRO, said on May 29, 2023, news agency ANI reported. Chandrayaan-3, which consists of a lander and rover, aims to demonstrate capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. 

ISRO will launch Chandrayaan-3 atop its largest launch vehicle, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mark III), also called Launch Vehicle Mark III (LVM3), from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The launch is likely to take place in the second week of July, PTI reported earlier this month, quoting a senior ISRO official. 

#WATCH | "Chandrayaan-3 will be launched in July this year," says S Somanath, chief of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) pic.twitter.com/J98aXfgmmI

— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2023

LVM3's propulsion module will carry Chandrayaan-3 to a 100-kilometre lunar orbit, ISRO says on its website.

What are the objectives of Chandrayaan-3? 

The objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are to demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, conduct in-situ scientific experiments, and demonstrate rover landing on the Moon. 

The lander aims to make a soft landing. The rover will conduct in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface.

The mission life of the lander and rover is one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 Earth days.

Chandrayaan-3 to be equipped with a special payload

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft will be equipped with an experimental instrument which would study the spectro-polarimetric signatures of Earth, a technique that involves measuring the polarisation of light by splitting the incoming light into its constituent colours, and then analysing the polarisation of each colour individually, according to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Observatory. 

The payload is called Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE).

Payloads on Chandrayaan-3’s lander and rover, and their objectives

The payloads on Chandrayaan-3's lander are the Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA), Langmuir Probe (LP), Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA), and Laser Retroreflector Array, a rover from NASA. 

ChaSTE will measure thermal conductivity and temperature on the lunar surface, near the polar region, ILSA will measure seismicity around the landing site, and describe the structure of the lunar crust and mantle, LP will estimate plasma density, and the Laser Retroreflector Array rover from NASA will be used to conduct lunar laser ranging studies and will help understand the dynamics of the Moon system. 

RAMBHA will measure the plasma density at the landing site, and how it changes with time. 

The payloads on Chandrayaan-3's rover are Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS). Both the instruments will derive the elemental composition of the lunar surface around the landing site. 

Functions of lander module and propulsion module

Chandrayaan-3 will also be equipped with an indigenous lander module and a propulsion module. The propulsion module will carry the lander module from the injection of the launch vehicle till insertion into the lunar orbit. After this, the lander module will separate from the propulsion module. 

The SHAPE payload is fitted onto the propulsion module. This will operate after the separation of the lander module from the propulsion module.