Chandrayaan-3 The Journey to the Moon

It is the third latest lunar exploration mission by the INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (ISRO). The launch of Chandrayaan 3 took place on 14 July 2023 at 14:35 IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in SRIHARIKOTA, Andhra Pradesh, India. Lunar injection of 100 km circular polar orbit successfully completed as part of the first phase and the lander and rover are expected to land near the south pole region of the moon on August 23, 2023 17:47 IST.

The prime month of July for the launch of Chandrayaan-3 was a special move due to the calculation done by ISRO regarding the proximity of Earth and Moon.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION 

 The main objective of Chandrayaan-3 is to conduct scientific experiments to study the lunar environment, which also includes history, geology and resource potential.

ISRO has set three main objectives for the Chandrayaan-3 mission :

• Get the lander to land safely and politely on the lunar surface.

• Observe and mark the rover's loitering capabilities on the Moon.

• In situ observations and experiments on all materials available on the lunar surface to better understand the composition of the Moon.

• If it makes a successful landing, India will become only the fourth country after USA, CHINA and RUSSIA to do so.

WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT CHANDRAYAAN-3 ?

India's Chandrayaan-3 mission will reach the moon after a journey of more than 40 days, unlike NASA's Apollo 11, which reached the lunar surface in just four days.

The name given to Chandrayaan 3 rover is "PRAGYAN". It means wisdom in Sanskrit. The rover will probe the lunar surface to analyze the elemental composition (Mg,Al,Si,K,Ca,Ti,Fe) of the soil and rocks near the landing site.

ORBITER, LANDER AND ROVER 

ROVER :- is a vehicle that moves around a planet or an astronomical object

LANDER: A spacecraft that lands silently and then stays there at rest, performing all the other functions it needs to do.

ORBITER:- It's a probe that actually sent to orbit around a planet or a extraterrestrial body to its missions life.

As NASA explains, "Spacecraft launch involves a period of powered flight at the beginning, during which the vehicle is lifted above the Earth's atmosphere and accelerated by the rocket".

The rocket is powered by fuel, which is a mixture of energy and oxidizers (which allow it to burn), all designed to generate enough energy to help the spacecraft lift off. Once this occurs, this powered flight continues and only ends when the last stage of the rocket burns out and the spacecraft separates. The payload should ideally be placed in the orbit of the planetary body it is expected to reach at this time.