Chandrayaan-3 mission likely to be launched in July: ISRO official
2 min read . Updated: 18 May 2023, 07:35 PM IST
PremiumIn March, Chandrayaan-3, to be launched by LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-III), completed all the required tests and is likely to be launched in July
A senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Thursday that the Chandrayaan-3 mission is scheduled for the second week of July if things go as planned. The Chandrayaan-3 mission is aimed at demonstrating critical technologies to land the spacecraft on the south pole of the moon in less than two months.
A senior official said, “Chandrayaan-3 mission is scheduled in July second week."
According to officials from ISRO, while the scientific instruments onboard the lander and rover align with the theme of 'Science of the Moon,' an additional experimental instrument would focus on studying the spectro-polarimetric signatures of Earth from the lunar orbit, falling under the theme of 'Science from the Moon.'
In March, Chandrayaan-3, to be launched by LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-III), completed all the required tests, validating its capabilities to withstand the harsh vibration and acoustic environment that the spacecraft would face during its launch.
"Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. It consists of Lander and Rover configuration", an ISRO official said.
The propulsion module, which has Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload to study the spectral and Polari metric measurements of Earth from the lunar orbit, would carry the lander and rover configuration till 100 km lunar orbit.
The lander payloads would be (i) 'Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment' which would calculate the thermal conductivity and temperature, (ii) 'Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity' to measure the seismicity around the landing site, and (iii) 'Langmuir Probe' which would estimate the plasma density and its variations.
A passive Laser Retroreflector Array from the US space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is also accommodated for lunar laser ranging studies.
The rover payloads would be 'Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer' and 'Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy' for deriving the elemental composition in the vicinity of the landing site.
(With PTI inputs)