India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is racing towards the Moon in an effort for a historic landing, capturing stunning images along the way.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed on August 22 that Chandrayaan-3 is on schedule, and the spacecraft’s operations continue to run “smoothly.” The Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is expected to begin its descent to the lunar surface at 5:45 PM Indian Standard Time on August 23 (7:15 PM the same day in Vietnam).
The Lander Imager 4 camera of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft captured a close-up image of the lunar surface on August 20.
If successful, this mission will mark the first soft landing on the lunar surface by an Indian spacecraft, making India the fourth country in the world to achieve such a feat. Currently, the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union are the nations that have successfully conducted controlled landings on the Moon.
The Indian space agency will live-stream the Chandrayaan-3 landing attempt starting at 5:20 PM Indian Standard Time on August 23.
On August 21, ISRO marked the eve of the Chandrayaan-3 landing event by sharing images and footage captured by the spacecraft’s onboard cameras.
A clear image of the lunar surface taken from a height of 70 km shows features such as Mare Marginis, a large dark spot formed by ancient asteroids impacting the edge of the “near side” of the Moon. (“The near side” refers to the hemisphere of the Moon always facing Earth, as opposed to the “far side,” which cannot be seen from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate it orbits the Earth.)
Another image, captured on August 20 from a much closer vantage point as the spacecraft glided by, provides a close look at the Moon’s dusty gray terrain.
According to the Indian space agency, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft can orient itself by matching images captured by its cameras with a lunar map programmed into its onboard computer.
The name Chandrayaan means “Moon vehicle” in Sanskrit and was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, southern India on July 14. This spacecraft has been making a slow approach to the lunar surface.
The Indian space agency ISRO released an image of the “far side” of the Moon captured by the Lander Imager 4 camera on Chandrayaan-3. India’s lander is preparing for a soft landing in the Moon’s south polar region.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission marks India’s second attempt to achieve a controlled landing on the Moon. The first attempt, in 2019 with Chandrayaan-2, ended with the lander crashing onto the lunar surface due to software issues and difficulties in braking during descent.
The Vikram lander on the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft carries a small robot named Pragyan. This solar-powered duo will explore the surface for one lunar day (about 14 Earth days) before the lunar night (also lasting 14 Earth days) descends, causing their batteries to deplete.
Vikram got closer to the Moon on August 20, after completing its final de-boosting maneuver (slowing down to adjust its orbital position). With this maneuver, the lander achieved an orbit with a nearest point to the Moon of 25 km and a farthest point of 134 km. ISRO stated that it will undergo self-checks and wait for sunrise at the designated landing site.
This lander aims to touch down near the Moon’s south pole, which is believed to have a high likelihood of water ice that could be useful for fuel production or sustaining life.
Vikram carries four scientific instruments, including a thermal probe capable of penetrating about 10 cm into the lunar soil and recording the temperature of the rocks throughout the lunar day. Vikram is also equipped with a retroreflector, expected to remain functional long after the lander ceases operations. Meanwhile, the Pragyan robot carries a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument and an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) to study lunar rocks.
Just days before the expected landing of Chandrayaan-3, Russia’s Luna-25 mission encountered a mishap, causing the lander to crash onto the lunar surface.
On August 21, the head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, Yury Borisov, revealed that the primary cause of the Luna-25 mission’s failure was the probe’s failure to shut down its engines in time, leading it to deviate from its intended orbit.
“Unfortunately, the engine shutdown did not occur normally, according to the sequence diagram, but rather based on a time stamp, and instead of the planned 84 seconds, it took 127 seconds,” Borisov told Rossiya 24 television. He stated that this factor was a crucial reason behind the mission’s failure and added that a special committee has been established to investigate the incident.
