 "Chandrayaan-3")
Chandrayaan-1 was the first lunar probe under the Chandrayaan programme by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).
Chandrayaan-1 was launched on October 22, 2008, and operated until August 2009.
The lunar mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor and the spacecraft was launched using a PSLV-XL rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota. The vehicle was inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.
The estimated cost for the project was Rs 386 crore.
The mission was intended to survey the lunar surface over a period of two years. Chandrayaan-1 aimed to study the complete map of the chemical composition at the surface and three-dimensional topography. Among its many achievements was the discovery of the widespread presence of water molecules in lunar soil.
After almost a year, on August 28, 2009, the orbiter started experiencing technical issues and it stopped communicating. Following this, Isro officially declared that the mission was over.
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Chandrayaan-1 operated for 312 days as opposed to the intended two years. However, the mission achieved most of its scientific objectives, including detecting lunar water.
The spacecraft was expected to remain in orbit for approximately another 1,000 days and to crash into the lunar surface in late 2012. Although, it was found to still be in orbit in 2016.
Chandrayaan-2
Following the success of Chandrayaan-1, Isro launched Chandrayaan-2 on July 22, 2019 from SDSC in Andhra Pradesh.
Chandrayaan-2, the second lunar exploration mission, included a lunar orbiter, a lander, and the Pragyan rover, all of which were developed in India. The main objective was to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.
The craft reached the Moon's orbit on August 20, 2019, and began orbital positioning manoeuvres for the landing of the Vikram lander. However, lander Vikram and rover Pragyaan crash-landed on the Moon’s surface during the early hours of September 7.
The Isro lost all contact with the Vikram lander on the day of the landing when it was around 335 metres from the surface of the moon. The objective of the lunar mission was to make a soft landing on the surface of the moon.
The reason behind the crash landing of the Vikram lander was that it tilted 410 degrees, instead of the planned 55 degrees. Due to the change in trajectory and the lack of speed reduction, the lander along with the moon rover, Pragyan, crash-landed on the surface of the moon.
Chandrayaan-3
The Isro is now set to launch Chandrayaan-3 on July 14 at 2:35 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The spacecraft will lift off from the rocket, Launch Vehicle Mk-III (LVM-3). The LVM-3 is a heavy-lift launch vehicle, which can carry a large payload into space. It is the most powerful rocket that Isro has ever developed.
After travelling for about 384,000 km, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is expected to land on the lunar surface on August 23.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft comprises a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), a lander (1,723.89 kg) and a rover (26 kg).
Following the landing, the rover will roll out to perform experiments. The life of the payload carried by the propulsion module after the ejection of the lander is between three and six months. The mission life of the lander and the rover is one lunar day or 14 earth days.
