The Indian Space Research Organization stands on the threshold of a history. The Chandrayaan-3 probe sent to the Moon’s south pole on the agency side will soon make a soft landing. If successful, India will become the fourth country to make a soft landing on the Moon, after the Soviet Union, the United States and China. Additionally, if successful, India will be the first country to land a vehicle on the Moon’s south pole.Mission progressing smoothly
The Chandrayaan-3 mission has been running smoothly so far. The spacecraft was launched on July 14 and successfully entered lunar orbit on August 5. Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander disengaged from the thruster module on August 17, setting the stage for Wednesday’s landing attempt.
The landing attempt will take place near the Moon’s south pole, which is thought to be rich in water ice. No probe has ever explored this area on the ground, but the Chandrayaan-3 isn’t the first vehicle to try it – but you may have success. Russia’s Luna-25 lander crashed on Saturday (August 19th) while performing an engine burn. Luna 25 was expected to land on August 21.
If Vikram makes his landing on Wednesday, he will deploy a small rover named Pragyan on the gray ground. The two robots will then use a variety of instruments to study their environment for about 14 Earth days.
Wednesday’s test will be India’s second lunar landing attempt. The first failed in 2019; The country’s Chandrayaan-2 lander had problems during its descent and crashed onto the lunar surface.
The Chandrayaan-3 probe’s landing attempt is scheduled for today (23 August) at around 15:34 PM. You can follow the live stream below.
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