Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 (/ˌtʃʌndrəˈjɑːn/ CHUN-drə-YAHN) is the third mission in the Chandrayaan programme, a series of lunar-exploration missions developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).[10] The mission consists of a Vikram lunar lander and a Pragyan lunar rover was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and India became the first country to touch down near the lunar south pole, at 69°S, the southernmost lunar landing [11] on 23 August 2023 at 18:03 IST (12:33 UTC), made ISRO the fourth space agency to successfully land on the Moon, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the CNSA. [12][note 1] The lander was not built to withstand the cold temperatures of the lunar night, and sunset over the landing site ended the surface mission twelve days after landing.[16][17] The propulsion module, still operational, transited back to a high Earth orbit from lunar orbit on 22 November 2023 for continued scientific observations of Earth.[18]
Mission type
57320
11 months and 12 days (elapsed) (PM)
- Propulsion module: ≤ 3 to 6 months (planned) 10 months and 21 days (elapsed) (since orbit insertion)
- Vikram lander: ≤ 14 days (planned)
10 months, 3 days
(in progress)
(since landing) - Pragyan rover: ≤ 14 days (planned)
12 days (final) (since deployment)
Chandrayaan
ISRO
3900 kg (8600 lb)[1]
Propulsion Module: 2148 kg (4736 lb)
Lander Module (Vikram): 1726 kg (3806 lb)
Rover (Pragyan) 26 kg (57 lb)
Total: 3900 kg (8600 lb)
Propulsion Module: 758 W
Lander Module: 738 W (WS with Bias)
Rover: 50 W
14 July 2023, 14:35:17 IST (09:05:17 UTC)[2]
LVM3 M4
ISRO
5 August 2023
153 km (95 mi)
163 km (101 mi)
Vikram lander
3 September 2023[3]
Statio Shiv Shakti (Shiv Shakti Point)[4]
69°22′23″S 32°19′08″E / 69.373°S 32.319°E[5]
(between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters)[6]
23 August 2023
101.4 m (333 ft)[7]
Vikram lander
3 September 2023[3]
40 cm (16 in) away from Statio Shiv Shakti (Shiv Shakti Point)[8]
(between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters)[9]
Propulsion module
7 November 2023
Chandrayaan-3 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and became the first lander to touch down near the lunar south pole[11] on 23 August at 18:03 IST (12:33 UTC), making India the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon, and at 69°S, the southernmost lunar landing, until IM-1 landed further southwards in Malapert A crater on 22 February 2024.[19][note 2] The lander was not built to withstand the cold temperatures of the lunar night, and sunset over the landing site ended the surface mission twelve days after landing.[23][24] The propulsion module, still operational, transited back to a high Earth orbit from lunar orbit on 22 November 2023 for continued scientific observations of Earth.[18]
Chandrayaan-3 orbital manoeuvre
Funding[edit]
In December 2019, ISRO requested the initial funding of the project, amounting to ₹750 crore (US$90 million), out of which ₹600 million (US$7.2 million) would be for meeting expenditure towards machinery, equipment, and other capital expenditure, while the remaining ₹150 million (US$1.8 million) was sought for operating expenditure.[91] Amit Sharma, CEO of an ISRO vendor, said, "With local sourcing of equipment and design elements, we are able to reduce the price considerably."[92]
Confirming the existence of the project, ISRO's former chairman K. Sivan stated that the estimated cost would be around ₹615 crore (equivalent to ₹724 crore or US$87 million in 2023).[93][94][95]
Domestic reactions[edit]
Chandrayaan-3's landing live stream on ISRO's official YouTube channel received eight million concurrent viewers,[108] which is the highest in YouTube's history for a live video.[109][110]
Congratulating the ISRO team behind the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bengaluru, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the touchdown point of the Vikram lander would henceforth be known as Statio Shiv Shakti.[111] He further declared 23 August, the day the Vikram lander landed on the Moon, as National Space Day.[112][113]
ISRO chief S. Somanath proclaimed "India is on the Moon" after the successful touchdown.[114] "We learnt a lot from our failure and corrected it. It's now 14 days of work and we have to conduct experiments," he told India Today.[115]
P Veeramuthuvel, the project director of the mission said, "It's a great moment of happiness. On behalf of the team it gives me immense satisfaction on achieving this goal as the Project Director of the mission. The entire mission operations right from launch till landing happened flawlessly as per the timeline".[116] S. Mohana Kumar, the mission director, said that Chandrayaan-3 was a "team effort".[117]
Meanwhile, former ISRO chief K Sivan, under whose tenure the Chandrayaan-2 was launched said, "We are really excited to see this grand success. For this, we have been waiting for the last four years. This success is sweet news for us and for the entire nation."[118]
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of congress, also celebrated Chandrayaan-3's success, calling it a result of "tremendous ingenuity and hard work" by the country's scientific community. "Since 1962, India's space program has continued to scale new heights and inspire generations of young dreamers," he posted on X.[119]
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated the scientists of ISRO on the successful landing and termed it a "historic" moment. He wrote "This is historical. It's a significant achievement for the country. It's a matter of pride for all of us. The success of Chandrayaan-3 is a result of the hard work of all citizens, ISRO scientists, engineers, and employees. Congratulations to everyone involved. Bharat Mata ki jai."[120]
DY Chandrachud, the chief justice of India hailed the landing as "a milestone in the onward march of our nation" and congratulated the ISRO team.[121]
International reactions[edit]
Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, said: "Incredible! Congratulations to ISRO, Chandrayaan-3, and to all the people of India!! What a way to demonstrate new technologies AND achieve India's first soft landing on another celestial body. Well done, I am thoroughly impressed."[122][123][124]
Abdulla Shahid, the foreign minister of Maldives, wrote "As a South Asian nation, and neighbour, we are proud of the successful landing of Chandrayaan 3 near the moon's south pole. This is a success for all of humanity! Opening new avenues for new areas of exploration."[123]
Bill Nelson, the administrator of NASA wrote "Congratulations ISRO on your successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar South Pole landing and congratulations to India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We’re glad to be your partner on this mission".[125][124]
Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa said "This for us, as the BRICS family, is a momentous occasion and we rejoice with you. We join you in the joy of this great achievement."[122]
The Kremlin quoted Russian president Vladimir Putin's message to Indian president Droupadi Murmu and Modi, "Please, accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the successful landing of the Indian space station Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon near its South Pole. This is a big step forward in space exploration and certainly a testament to the impressive progress made by India in the area of science and technology”.[126]
Nepal prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said "I congratulate Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and ISRO team of India on successful landing of Chandrayan-3 in the surface of the moon today and unleashing of a historic achievement in science and space technology."[123]
Awards[edit]
The Exploration Museum has bestowed upon ISRO the esteemed Leif Erikson Lunar Prize in honor of the space agency's resolute dedication and noteworthy advancements in lunar exploration in 2023.[127]
In recognition of its accomplishments with the historic Chandrayaan-3 mission in 2023, ISRO has been bestowed with the esteemed Aviation Week Laureates Award. Sripriya Ranganathan, Deputy Ambassador at the Indian Embassy in the US, accepted the award on behalf of ISRO.[128]
The Chandrayaan-3 mission team has raised the bar for space exploration, and for that reason, they have been awarded the prestigious 2024 John L. 'Jack' Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration. On 8 April 2024, at the opening ceremony of the annual Space Symposium in Colorado, India's Consul General D C Manjunath accepted the prize on behalf of the Indian Space Research Organization.[129]