LPSC Director at ISRO expresses confidence in soft landing of Chandrayaan-3
Jul 14, 2023
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) [India], July 14 : Expressing his confidence in the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3, Dr V Narayanan, Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at ISRO on Friday said that he is confident that they would succeed and after this would immediately go for Gaganyaan programme.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched on GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle successfully by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota as per scheduled launch time on Friday.
"Chandrayaan3 will reach to the moon on August 23...This is an important project for India. We are going to make soft landing for the first time. I am confident, we will succeed..." Dr V Narayanan said.
"After this, we are immediately going for Gaganyaan programme...We are also going for Aditya L1 Mission in August..," he further said.
Earlier today, Director of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) S Somanath said that landing is one important step for further exploration.
"Chandrayaan3 is a very important step...Landing this time is very important. Unless you land, you cannot take samples, you cannot land human beings, and you cannot create moon bases. So, landing is one important step for further exploration," said ISRO chief S Somanath.
The journey from Earth to the moon for the spacecraft is estimated to take about a month and the landing is expected on August 23. Upon landing, it will operate for one lunar day, which is approximately 14 Earth days. One day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth.
Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission, will make India the fourth country after US, China, and Russia, to land its spacecraft on the surface of the moon and demonstrate the country’s abilities for safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO's follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was eventually deemed to have failed its core mission objectives.
Chandrayaan-3 will be inserted into the Lunar Transfer Trajectory after the orbit-raising maneuvers. Covering a distance of over 300,000 km, it will reach the Moon in the coming weeks. Scientific instruments onboard will study the Moon’s surface and enhance our knowledge.
Chandrayaan-3 is equipped with a lander, a rover and a propulsion module. It weighs around 3,900 kilograms.
Moon serves as a repository of the Earth’s past and a successful lunar mission by India will help enhance life on Earth while also enabling it to explore the rest of the solar system and beyond.
