On August 23 at 6:04 PM, India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission made history when it successfully touched down on the moon’s surface. India became the first nation to complete this feat with a “soft landing” on the southern pole of the moon. The lander released a rover, a little vehicle made to explore the lunar surface. ISRO published a video on August 24 that explains how this occurred.
The foundations of the program, including how a space mission is launched, what Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2 were, and more, were discussed before Chandrayaan-3 launched to the Moon on July 14. This can be read here. We’ll now go into the importance of “soft landing” for the mission, the difficulties of landing on the southern pole, and what comes next.
Why did Chandrayaan-3 land on the South Pole and what is a gentle landing?
The three goals of the mission, according to ISRO, were to carry out an in-situ scientific experimentation, demonstrate the rover moving around on the Moon, and perform a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.
A spacecraft must descend slowly and carefully in order to soft land without damaging it. The Indian Express quoted Amitabh Ghosh, a scientist on NASA’s Mars rover mission, as saying, “Imagine a spacecraft that is speeding through space at 10 times the speed of an aeroplane, but is required to land softly. nearly be forced to wait until.Earth in a matter of minutes, and more significantly, all without the aid of any human beings. It’s a soft landing, in other words.
Why does ISRO seek to study the Moon’s south pole with the Chandrayaan-3 mission?
By doing so, the spacecraft’s technical prowess is displayed. The landing spot is about 70 degrees latitude, close to the Moon’s south pole.
Because it is simpler and safer, every previous spacecraft that has touched down on the Moon has done so close to the equator. For extended and continuous equipment use, the terrain and temperature are more suited. Additionally present is sunlight, which supplies solar-powered equipment with a constant flow of power.
The Moon’s polar regions are unique, though. With no sunlight, many areas are completely dark, and the temperature can fall below 230 °C. The equipment becomes difficult to use as a result. Additionally, there are enormous potholes everywhere.
And finally, what will happen after Chandrayaan-3 successfully touches down on the Moon?
Payloads, also known as instruments and experiments, are frequently carried by spacecraft to view and record events in space. Scientists on Earth are then given access to this data for analysis and research.
The Vikram lander and rover Pragyan have the same six payloads as the previous mission. In order to examine lunar earthquakes, thermal characteristics of the lunar surface, changes in plasma near the surface, and a passive experiment to help precisely calculate the distance between Earth and the Moon, the lander will be equipped with four scientific payloads.
The rover has two payloads that are intended to investigate the chemistry and mineralogy of the lunar surface and to ascertain the proportions of elements like magnesium, aluminum, and iron in lunar sand and rocks.