BANGALORE: In a historic achievement for India's space exploration endeavors, Chandrayaan 3, the nation's lunar mission, marked a triumphant soft landing on the Moon's southern pole on August 23, 2023, at 6:04 pm. This remarkable feat has elevated India to the select group of countries capable of lunar landings, placing it alongside the United States, Russia, and China.
Just 14 days from today, on September 22, the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover are anticipated to stir to life once more with the lunar sunrise, continuing their exploration.
The odyssey of Chandrayaan 3 embarked on July 14, 2023, with a launch at 2:35 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Shri Hari Kota, Andhra Pradesh. The culmination of this mission was the skillful soft landing achieved by the Vikram Lander, positioning it roughly 600 kilometers from the Moon's southern pole.
The chronology of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, as documented on ISRO's official website and Twitter page, unfolds as follows:
July 14, 2023: Launch of Chandrayaan-3 July 15, 2023: First Earth-bound Maneuver July 17, 2023: Second Earth-bound Maneuver July 18, 2023: Third Earth-bound Maneuver July 20, 2023: Fourth Earth-bound Maneuver July 25, 2023: Fifth Earth-bound Maneuver July 31/August 1, 2023: Trans-lunar Injection August 5, 2023: Lunar Orbit Insertion / First Lunar Bound Maneuver August 6, 2023: Second Lunar-Bound Maneuver August 9, 2023: Third Lunar-Bound Maneuver August 14, 2023: Fourth Lunar-Bound Maneuver August 16, 2023: Fifth Lunar-Bound Maneuver August 18, 2023: First Lander Deorbit Maneuver August 19, 2023: Second Lander Deorbit Maneuver August 23, 2023: Vikram Rover Landing August 24, 2023: Pragyan Rover Deployment September 2, 2023: Pragyan Rover Enters Sleep Mode September 3, 2023: Vikram Lander Executes Successful 'Hop' and Soft Landing September 4, 2023: Vikram Rover Enters Sleep Mode September 22, 2023 (tentatively): Pragyan and Vikram Awaken Anew
On September 3, 2023, the Vikram lander impressively completed a hop experiment, surpassing its objectives. ISRO communicated this milestone through its official Twitter account. During the hop, the Vikram lander elevated itself by approximately 40 cm and safely descended roughly 30-40 cm away from its initial position. All rover systems performed flawlessly, including the deployment of the ramp, ChaSTE, and ILSA.
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