Chandrayaan-3: More than a moon-landing
After India’s second unmanned lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2 failed to achieve a soft landing in the Moon’s south polar region on September 7, 2019, the huge disappointment was understandable. But now, it couldn’t have been a better time for India’s third moonshot, Chandrayaan-3, to be on its way to the Moon. Using the data relayed by the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and studying the reasons for what went wrong with the lander then, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists launched Chandrayaan-3 with much confidence for a successful soft-landing on August 23 or 24. Praying for its success is not just India but also NASA, the USA, and its 25 partners in the Artemis Accords. It may not have been just a coincidence that India became the 27th signatory to the Artemis Accords on June 21, just three weeks before the July 14 launch of Chandrayaan-3.
After two test flights, NASA has planned the Artemis III mission to take astronauts to the Moon and back in 2025—53 years after the Apollo-17 mission did that last in 1972. NASA is looking at landing the astronauts near the Moon’s south pole. It is a permanently shadowed region, which scientists feel is rich in resources and could offer ideal landing sites for manned missions in the future. It is also the same region where Chandrayaan-3 is attempting a soft landing to deploy a rover to conduct on-site experiments for 14 days (1 lunar day).
NASA has chosen 13 landing regions near the lunar south pole for Artemis III to land with astronauts. These, however, were short-listed based on data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter while orbiting the Moon, besides decades of publications and lunar science findings. But the Chandrayaan-3 lander will be the first to soft-land near the lunar south pole and relay on-site data about chemical and physical properties in the region.
The lander and rover carry six payloads (four and two, respectively) for detailed analyses and studies. This data will be shared with NASA for its crewed lunar missions, keeping with “India’s commitment to space exploration underpinned by new levels of cooperation”, as Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s ambassador to the USA, said while signing the Accords. In achieving success, Chandrayaan-3 could do more than swell Indian chests with pride. It could contribute to future manned lunar missions with a better understanding of the Moon’s environs.