 "'Buzzed with energy & excitement': Isro releases new images of Moon")
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Tuesday released new images of the Moon captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission from an altitude of about 70 kilometres.
LPDC images assist the lander module (LM) of the mission, scheduled to make a soft landing on the lunar surface on Wednesday, in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard Moon reference map, the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency said.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Isro said, "The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing. The mission operations complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement!"
On Monday, Isro released images of the Lunar far side area captured by the lander hazard detection and avoidance camera (LHDAC).
This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area -- without boulders or deep trenches -- during the descent is developed by the Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre (SAC), a major research and development centre of Isro.
According to Isro, to achieve the mission objectives of Chandrayaan-3, several advanced technologies are present in the Lander, such as LHDAC.
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Chandrayaan-3: Landing date
The LM comprising the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan), is scheduled to make a soft landing near the south polar region of the Moon at 6:04 pm on Wednesday.
If the Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeds in making a touchdown on the Moon and in landing a robotic lunar rover in Isro's second attempt in four years, India will become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2, and its objectives are to demonstrate a safe and soft-landing on the lunar surface, roving on the Moon, and conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
Chandrayaan-2 had failed in its lunar phase when its lander 'Vikram' crashed into the surface of the Moon following anomalies in the braking system in the lander while attempting a touchdown on September 7, 2019. Chandrayaan's maiden mission was in 2008.
The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near the lunar south pole.
The soft-landing is being attempted days after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control.
Chandrayaan-3: '17 minutes of terror'
After the second and final deboosting operation on August 20, the LM is placed in a 25 km x 134 km orbit around the Moon.
The module would undergo internal checks and await the sun-rise at the designated landing site, Isro has said, adding that the powered descent -- to achieve a soft landing on the Moon's surface -- is expected to be initiated at around 5:45 pm on Wednesday.
The critical process of soft-landing has been dubbed by many, including Isro officials as "17 minutes of terror", with the entire process being autonomous when the lander has to fire its engines at the right times and altitudes, use the right amount of fuel, and scan of the lunar surface for any obstacles or hills or craters before finally touching down.
After checking all the parameters and deciding to land, ISRO will upload all the required commands from its Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu near here to the LM, a couple of hours before the scheduled time touchdown.
According to Isro officials, for landing, at around 30 km altitude, the lander enters the powered braking phase and begins to use its four thruster engines by "retro firing" them to reach the surface of the Moon by gradually reducing the speed. This ensures the lander doesn't crash, as the Moon's gravity will also be in play.
Noting that on reaching an altitude of around 6.8 km, only two engines will be used, shutting down the other two, aimed at giving the reverse thrust to the lander as it descends further, they said, then, on reaching an altitude of about 150-100 metres, the lander using its sensors and cameras, would scan the surface to check whether there are any obstacles and then start descending to make a soft-landing.
(With agency inputs)