Page 6 - Moon Mission

In a first, Chandrayaan-3 to attempt soft-landing on moon's south pole

India is at the cusp of scripting history, as ISRO's ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) is all set to touch down on the lunar surface on Wednesday evening, making it only the fourth country to do so, and first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite. The LM comprising the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan), is scheduled to make a touch down near the south polar region of the Moon at 6:04 pm on Wednesday. "The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing. The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement!" ISRO said on Tuesday, also sharing visuals of the moon captured by cameras on the lander. If the Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeds in making a touchdown on 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

Centre asks univs to organise assemblies to watch Chandrayaan-3 landing

The Centre has asked all universities and higher education institutions, including IITs and IIMs, to organise special assemblies to watch the live-streaming of Chandrayaan-3's landing on moon. The landing of India's Chandrayaan-3 is a monumental occasion that will not only fuel curiosity but also spark a passion for exploration within the minds of our youth. It will generate a profound sense of pride and unity as we collectively celebrate the prowess of Indian science and technology. It will contribute to fostering an environment of scientific inquiry and innovation, Higher Education secretary K Sanjay Murthy said in a letter to all heads of all education institutions. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has also issued a similar directive asking the institutions to hold special assemblies and live stream moments of Chandrayaan-3, India's third lunar mission landing, on Wednesday. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to land on t

Chandrayaan-3 moon landing today: When and where to watch live streaming

Chandrayaan-3 moon landing: PM Narendra Modi, who is in South Africa for the 15th Brics Summit, will attend the event virtually

Chandrayaan-3: Third Lunar mission in 15 years, Moon truly beckons Isro

Three Lunar missions in 15 years! It seems the Moon truly beckons ISRO. And why not? Scientists found frozen water deposits in the darkest and coldest parts of the Moon's polar regions for the first time using data from the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in 2009. Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the Moon, was launched on October 22, 2008 from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh. The spacecraft, carrying 11 scientific instruments built in India, the USA, the UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria, orbited around the Moon at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon. After the successful completion of all the major mission objectives, the orbit was raised to 200 km in May 2009. The satellite made more than 3,400 orbits around the Moon. The orbiter mission, which had a mission life of two years, was, however, prematurely aborted after communication with the spacecraft was lost on August 29, 2009. "Chandrayaan-1 achieve

Two key features of Chandrayaan: A Tamil connect and a scientific payload

Two key features that mark the Chandrayaan-3 mission by ISRO, apart from the planned soft-landing on the lunar surface, is its Tamil connection and the presence of the scientific payload onboard the propulsion module. The Tamil connection of the Chandrayaan missions refers to the three scientists from Tamil Nadu who helmed each of the crucial Moon missions of India's space programme. Mayilsamy Annadurai, dubbed as the 'Moon Man of India', led the maiden Chandrayaan mission in 2008, while M Vanitha led the Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019, and M Veeramuthuvel is heading the current Chandrayaan-3 Mission. After Chandrayaan-3's lift-off on July 14 at 2.35 pm from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Veeramuthuvel rushed back to the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru to track the rocket. He told the media that he would be able to speak to them only after ensuring that the landing module makes a soft-landing on the lunar surface an exercise which is ...

TN soil plays key role in Chandrayaan-3 mission, just like state's sons

It is not only Tamil Nadu's sons of the soil former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Chandrayaan-2 Mission Director Mayilsamy Annadurai, and Chandrayaan-3 Project Director Veeramuthuvel P who have contributed to ISRO missions, but literally the state's soil itself. Since 2012, Namakkal, which is about 400 km from state capital Chennai, has supplied soil to ISRO for testing for the Chandrayaan Mission capability, as the earth in that district is similar to that of the lunar surface. This has enabled ISRO to test and refine the ability of the lander module to soft land on the surface of the Moon, given that the properties of the Namakkal soil are similar. So, if Chandrayaan-3's lander module achieves its objective of successfully soft landing on the Moon, it would give Tamil Nadu an extra reason to cheer. This is the third time that Tamil Nadu has supplied the necessary soil to the Bengaluru headquartered space agency for performing the tests for its ambitious Moon missions. Accordin

Top headlines: All eyes on Chandrayaan-3 landing, 28% GST move, and more

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India set for first south pole Moon landing after Russia's Luna-25 crashes

Vikram, Chandrayaan-3's lander, is trending on X, formally known as Twitter, as billionaire industrialists and Bollywood actors eagerly await the historic moment

Chandrayaan-3: ISRO's Lander releases new images of moon from 70 km above

In under 100 hours, Chandrayaan-3 will make its highly awaited historic landing on Moon's south pole. The landmark event will be taking place on the lunar surface on 23 August

Chandrayaan-3 Update: Isro can postpone landing in unfavourable situations

Isro director says that in case of unfavourable conditions, the Chandrayaan-3 landing can be postponed to August 27. People across the country are performing 'Havan' for the mission's success

'Buzzed with energy & excitement': Isro releases new images of Moon

Chandrayaan-3 landing date: Isro's Rs 600 crore lunar mission will attempt landing on the far side of the Moon on Wednesday at 6:04 pm

Chandrayaan-3 landing on August 27 if conditions are unfavourable: Isro

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has kept an alternative date for Chandrayaan-3 landing on August 27, if it will not be appropriate to land the Vikram module on August 23

Russian space agency chief blames decades of inactivity for Luna-25 crash

The head of Russia's space agency said Monday that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the country's decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap. The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist. Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov said the spacecraft's engines were turned on over the weekend to put Luna-25 into a pre-landing orbit" but did not shut down properly, plunging the lander onto the moon. Instead of the planned 84 seconds, it worked for 127 seconds. This was the main reason for the emergency, Borisov told Russian state news channel Russia 24. Roscosmos had contact with the spacecraft until 2:57 p.m. local time Saturday, when communication was lost and the device passed into an open lunar orbit

Chandrayaan-3 will soon land on moon's surface, check latest updates here

ISRO said the orbit of Chandrayaan-3 mission's Lander Module was reduced on Sunday. The crash of Russia's Luna-25 will not impact India's Chandrayaan-3 mission, said India's top space scientist

Chandrayaan-3 completes last Moon-bound manoeuvre, gears up for propulsion

India's ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission hit another mark on Wednesday when its spacecraft successfully underwent a fifth and final lunar-bound orbit manoeuvre, which brings it even closer to the surface of the Moon. With this, the spacecraft has completed all of its Moon-bound manoeuvres, and it will now prepare for separation of the lander module -- comprising the lander and rover -- from the propulsion module. "Today's successful firing, needed for a short duration, has put Chandrayaan-3 into an orbit of 153 km x 163 km, as intended. With this, the lunar bound manoeuvres are completed. It's time for preparations as the Propulsion Module and the Lander Module gear up for their separate journeys," ISRO said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Separation of the lander module from the propulsion module is planned for August 17, it said. Following its launch on July 14, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft entered into lunar orbit on August 5, following which orbit reduction manoeuvres were ..

Chandrayaan-3 update: All details about ISRO's Lunar orbit manoeuvre

The landing of Chandrayaan-3 on 23 August will be a huge accomplishment for ISRO and India. If accomplished, the landing will take place close to the difficult terrain of the moon's South Pole

Chandrayaan-3 leaves Earth's orbit, now headed for the moon, says ISRO

Chandrayaan-3 successfully completed its fifth orbit-raising manoeuvre on August 1 and is now headed for the moon for the next phase of the mission

Union Minister shares big update on Chandrayaan-3 landing, details here

Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh shared a major update about the Chandrayaan-3 mission, as the probe successfully completed the fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre on Thursday

Discussions are on for further Moon-landing missions, says ISRO Chairman

The Indian Space Research Organisation is almost ready with XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite), the country's first dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions, Chairman Somanath S said on Thursday. He said preparations are underway for the Aditya-L1 mission to study the Sun, adding that discussions are on to create a satellite to study extrasolar planets (exoplanets) as well. "We are also discussing missions to the Moon further for landing," the ISRO chief, who is also the Secretary of the Department of Space, said in his inaugural address to the Space Science Technology & AwaReness Training (START) programme 2023, being held virtually. ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon on July 14. "I am sure that you will find something very substantial through this (Chandrayaan-3) mission as far as science is concerned," he said. "We are also preparing for the mission to understand and study the Sun ...

Isro successfully performs second orbit-raising manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-3

The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully performed the second orbit-raising manoeuvre (Earth-bound apogee firing) of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. "The spacecraft is now in 41603 km X 226 km orbit", the national space agency headquartered here said on Monday. The next firing is planned for Tuesday between 2 pm and 3 pm. it said. The Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon was launched on July 14.