India's Chandrayaan 3 Moon Lander and Rover Launch on July 13
India is preparing for its next mission to the moon, called Chandrayaan 3.
India is preparing for its next mission to the moon, called Chandrayaan 3. The mission consists of a robotic lunar lander and rover, which were recently placed on top of their Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) rocket at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) shared photos and a video of the process on Twitter. If everything goes as planned, Chandrayaan 3 will launch on July 13 from Satish Dhawan.
Chandrayaan 3 is the third mission in India's Chandrayaan program of lunar exploration. The first mission, Chandrayaan 1, launched in 2008 and sent a moon orbiter and an impactor probe to the lunar surface, which discovered water ice. Chandrayaan 2, launched in 2019, had an orbiter, lander, and rover, but the lander-rover duo crashed during the touchdown attempt.
In Chandrayaan 3, the focus is on a moon landing. The mission includes a lander and rover but no orbiter. The lander and rover carry six science instruments and will gather various data during their stay on the moon, which lasts about 14 Earth days. The mission's propulsion module also has an instrument to study Earth from a distance, aiding future searches for potentially habitable exoplanets.
The goal of Chandrayaan 3 is to demonstrate India's capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. Only three entities, the governments of the Soviet Union, the United States, and China, have successfully achieved soft landings on the moon so far. Success in this mission would be a significant achievement for India.
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