Chandrayaan-3 is the third lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
It is scheduled to launch on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.
The mission will consist of a lander and a rover. The lander will soft-land on the lunar surface and deploy the rover, which will explore the lunar surface. The mission will also carry a number of scientific instruments to study the Moon’s surface and atmosphere.
The main objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are to:
- Soft-land on the lunar surface and deploy a rover.
- Study the lunar surface and atmosphere.
- Search for water ice on the Moon.
- Demonstrate new technologies for future lunar missions.
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2, which was launched in 2019. Chandrayaan-2 successfully entered lunar orbit, but the lander crashed during the final descent. Chandrayaan-3 is designed to learn from the mistakes of Chandrayaan-2 and to successfully soft-land on the lunar surface.
The launch of Chandrayaan is a major milestone for the Indian space program. It will be India’s first attempt to soft-land on the Moon since Chandrayaan-2. The success of Chandrayaan-3 would be a major boost for the Indian space program and would help to put India at the forefront of lunar exploration.
Image creditIndian Space Research Organisation (GODL-India), GODL-India, via Wikimedia Commons