ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3: Aiming for the Moon
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its ambitious moon mission, Chandrayaan-3. The spacecraft is fully integrated and ready to go. ISRO chief S Somnath recently revealed that the launch date is scheduled for mid-July.
Chandrayaan-3 is the third lunar exploration mission by ISRO, following Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2. The mission aims to land a rover on the lunar surface to study the moon’s topography, mineralogy, and surface chemical composition.
One of the key features of Chandrayaan-3 is its lander, Vikram. After the failure of Chandrayaan-2, ISRO made several corrections to the design of Vikram. The legs of the lander have been strengthened to withstand higher velocity during landing.
ISRO’s previous lunar missions have brought India closer to understanding the moon and its secrets. With Chandrayaan-3, ISRO aims to take another giant leap toward unraveling the mysteries of our closest celestial neighbor.
According to my sources, it will take Chandrayaan-3 less than two months to reach the Moon after its launch. However, ISRO is yet to release details about the post-launch timeline of Chandrayaan-3.
The cost of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is estimated to be around ₹615 crore (US$86 million).
ISRO has several exciting missions planned for the future. Some of the upcoming missions include:
- Aditya-L1: India’s first dedicated solar observatory.
- XPoSat: A mission to study cosmic radiation.
- Shukrayaan-1: India’s first orbiter mission to Venus.
- Gaganyaan-3: A manned mission to put astronauts 400km in orbit.
- NISAR: A joint mission with NASA to provide information on global environmental changes.
These are just a few of the many missions that ISRO has planned for the future.
We wish ISRO all the best for these exciting missions.
