2. BACKGROUND
AS part of the Chandrayaan programme to
demonstrate soft landing on the Moon, ISRO
launched Chandrayaan-2 on board a Launch
Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM 3) launch vehicle consisting
of an orbiter, a lander and a rover.
• The European Space Tracking (ESTRACK)
operated by European Space Agency (ESA) will
support the mission according to a contract.
Under the new cross-support arrangement, ESA
tracking support could be provided for
upcoming ISRO missions such as those of
India’s first human spaceflight programme,
Gaganyaan, the Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander and
the Aditya-L1 solar research mission. In return,
future ESA missions will receive similar support
from ISRO’s own tracking stations.
3. OBJECTIVE
Chandrayan 3 mission consists of the
main objectives of exhibiting end-to-end
capability in safe landing and roving on
the lunar surface.
The successful soft landing of this
mission will make India the fourth nation
to have done it after the United States,
the former Soviet Union and China.
4. DESIGN ~
• Chandrayaan-3 comprises three main components.
Propulsion Module:
• The propulsion module will carry the lander and rover configuration till
100 km lunar orbit. It is a box-like structure with one large solar panel
mounted on one side and a large cylinder on top (the Intermodular
Adapter Cone) that acts as a mounting structure for the lander.
• In addition to the lander, the module carries a payload called Spectro-
polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) to study the spectral
and polarimetric measurements of Earth from the lunar orbit in the
near- infrared (NIR) wavelength range (1-1.7 μm).
5. • Lander
The lander is responsible for the soft landing on the Moon.
It is also box- shaped, with four landing legs and four landing thrusters of
800 newtons each.
It will be carrying the rover and various scientific instruments to perform in-
site analysis.
The lander for Chandrayaan-3 will have only four throttle-able engines,
unlike Vikram on Chandrayaan-2 which had five 800 Newtons engines with a
fifth one being centrally mounted with a fixed thrust.[citation needed]
Additionally, the Chandrayaan-3 lander will be equipped with a Laser
Doppler Velocimeter (LDV).
The impact legs are made stronger compared to Chandrayaan-2 and
increased instrumentation redundancy. ISRO is working on improving the
structural rigidity and adding multiple contingency systems.
6. The lander has three payload:
• Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment
(ChaSTE) will measure the thermal conductivity
and temperature of the lunar surface.
• Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) will
measure the seismicity around the landing site.
• Langmuir Probe (LP) will estimate the plasma
density and its variations.
7. The rover has
two payloads:
• Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)
will derive the chemical composition and
infer mineralogical composition of the lunar
surface.
• Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope
(LIBS) will determine the elemental
composition (Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Fe) of
lunar soil and rocks around the lunar
landing site.
8. • Rover
Chandrayaan-3 Rover overview:
• Six-wheeled design
• Weight of 26 kilograms (57 pounds)
• Range of 500 metres (1,600 ft)
• Scientific instruments including cameras,
spectrometers, and a drill
• Expected lifespan of one lunar day (14 Earth days)
• Communication with the lander and ground control
team in India
9. LAUNCH:
• Chandrayan 3 was launched on 14 July 2023, at 2:35 pm IST
as scheduled, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in
Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India.
• The spacecraft has been effectively placed in the trajectory
it will take to reach the moon. It is anticipated that the
Chandrayaan-3 mission will achieve a soft landing on the
lunar South Pole region on 23 August.
• Choosing the month of July for the launch of Chandrayan 3
was a special move because of a calculation made by ISRO
regarding the closeness of Earth and Moon.
10. The Chandrayaan-3 Rover is expected
to make a number of important
scientific discoveries, including:
• The composition of the lunar surface
• The presence of water ice in the lunar
soil
• The history of lunar impacts
• The evolution of the Moon’s
atmosphere
11. FUNDING ~
• In December 2019, it was reported that ISRO requested the
initial funding of the project, amounting to ₹75 crore (US$9.4
million), out of which ₹60 crore (US$7.5 million) will be for
meeting expenditure towards machinery, equipment and
other capital expenditure, while the remaining ₹15 crore
(US$1.9 million) is sought under revenue expenditure head.
• Confirming the existence of the project, ISRO's former
chairman K
• Sivan stated that the estimated cost would be around ₹615
crore (equivalent to ₹721 crore or US$90 million in 2023
12. MISSION
EXECUTIVE ~ •
• Mission Director : S. Mohanakumar
• Associate Mission Director : G. Narayanan
• Vehicle Director : Biju C Thomas
• Associate Vehicle Director : P. K. Sudeesh
Kumar
• Spacecraft Director : Dr. P. Veeramuthuvel