BENGALURU: Chandrayaan 3’s Vikram lander on Thursday successfully separated from the propulsion module in a crucial step that allows it to make a solo journey to achieve a soft-landing near the lunar south pole on August 23.
The landing spot is between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters near the lunar south pole, and will be named after a successful landing. India awaits with bated breath for this historic moment, which it missed when the lander crashed while attempting to soft-land on September 7, 2019.
ISRO on Thursday confirmed that lander Vikram had successfully separated from the propulsion module and is now expected to land near the lunar south pole. ISRO on X platform (formerly Twitter) quoted Chandrayaan 3’s message relayed after its separation from the propulsion module: “Thanks for the ride mate. LM (Lander Module) is successfully separated from the Propulsion Module (PM). LM is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow.”
After the separation, the lander is expected to undergo a “deboost” to place it in an orbit of 30km X 100km, from where soft landing on the south polar region of the Moon will be attempted. The next deorbiting manoeuvre is scheduled for Friday at 4 pm, ISRO said. The process of deboosting will reduce the speed of the lander module to achieve a soft landing.
ISRO Chairman S Somanath had explained, “The velocity at the starting of the landing process is almost 1.68 km per second. But this speed is horizontal to the surface of the Moon.”
Lander to scout for flat spot
“Chandrayaan 3 here is tilted almost 90 degrees, it has to become vertical. So, this whole process of turning from horizontal to vertical is a very interesting calculation mathematically. We have done a lot of simulations. It is here where we had the problem last time (Chandrayaan 2),” Somanath said.
Last week, Somanath said, “If all the sensors fail, nothing works, still Vikram will make a landing. That’s how it has been designed, given that the propulsion system works well.” On Thursday, ISRO scientists’ confidence received a major boost after the separation.
The separation means that the lander will no longer be dependent on the propulsion module. From now on, Vikram lander, carrying the Pragyaan rover inside it, will complete the manoeuvres and soft-land at the site. The lander, using its sensors, will scout for a flat spot on the surface to make a soft-landing to achieve stability after touchdown.
On Wednesday, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) successfully completed the last manoeuvre on the propulsion module to place it near circuitous orbit of 153km X 163km before Thursday’s separation with the lander was carried out.
After achieving a soft-landing, the lander will deploy the rover to conduct on-site experiments. The lander itself will continue its own studies with its payloads. The propulsion module, developed by ISRO’s UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, after the separation continued in its orbit of 153km X 163km.
All set for Moon landing
The separation means the lander will no longer be dependent on the propulsion module. From now on, the lander, carrying the Pragyaan rover inside, will complete the manoeuvres and soft-land at the site. The lander will find a flat surface to make soft-landing to ensure smooth touchdown