India lights up the dark side of the moon
Context
India has now successfully landed on the moon, becoming the fourth country to do so. On Wednesday, the Chandrayaan-3 lander module’s rover achieved a soft landing on the moon’s surface.
Key Points of the Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Landing:
- India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander module and rover touched down safely on the moon’s surface.
- Celebrations were held at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru after the landing at 6:03 p.m.
- With this accomplishment, India joins the ranks of the United States, Russia, and China as the fourth nation to successfully land on the moon.
- The lunar landing by India is also notable for being the first successful landing in the moon’s polar region.
- The lander met the majority of nominal landing requirements, including the necessary touchdown velocity, according to ISRO Chairman S. Somanath.
- The lander’s health and suitability for the intended tests were indicated by the landing velocity, which was less than 2 meters per second.
- The lander and the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISTRAC were able to communicate.
- ISRO revealed pictures taken by the lander’s horizontal velocity camera while it was descending.
- The achievement makes up for the Vikram lander failure of Chandrayaan-2 in 2019.
Powered Descent and Landing:
- The powered descent, which was broken up into four phases: hard braking, altitude hold, fine braking, and terminal descent, started at roughly 5:44 p.m.
- The Vikram lander completed each of these phases and landed on the moon’s surface at 6:03 p.m.
- The total time for the successful landing was 19 minutes.
Background about the Chandrayaan-3 mission:
- On July 14, the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
- The mission comprises of a rover, a propulsion module, and an indigenous lander module.
- The main goals are to demonstrate a secure and gentle lunar landing, to show off the rover’s mobility on the lunar surface, and to carry out in-situ scientific research.
- During its mobility phase, the rover will perform chemical analyses on the lunar surface.
- The mission life of the lander and rover is one lunar day, which is equal to 14 days on Earth.
Importance and Global Impact:
- India’s successful landing on the moon’s polar area is a testament to the nation’s scientists and engineers’ hard work and abilities.
- The triumph of India, according to Prime Minister Modi, paves the way for other nations, including those in the Global South, to pursue similar goals.
- India’s moon mission encourages worldwide cooperation in space exploration and advances our understanding of the universe.
- Future space missions will benefit from the successful landing’s contributions to science and technology.
Conclusion
In conclusion, India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing success is a noteworthy accomplishment that showcases India’s advancements in space exploration, technological prowess, and international collaboration in the field of space science.
