By Synthia Tashfi
Edited by Wan Athilah
Credit: ISRO
INDIA, 23 August 2023: As the spacecraft labeled Chandrayaan-3 touches down on the surface of the Moon, India becomes the fourth nation to successfully land on the Moon, and the first to do so on the lunar south pole.
As it is famously known, the first ever crewed mission to land on the Moon was the United States’ Apollo-11 in 1969, led by astronaut Neil Armstrong. However, as a Moon or lunar landing includes both crewed and robotic missions, the first ever official lunar landing was a decade earlier in 1959, by the Soviet Union’s robotic Luna 2. Since then, there have been several Moon landings, led by space programs from the US, the Soviet Union (now Russia) and eventually, China.
Nevertheless, a successful landing in the south pole region of the Moon had not been achieved prior. There had been failed attempts, notably Russia’s Luna-25 this year and India’s Chandrayaan-2 back in 2019. The notion of exploring the southern region of the Moon is emphasized by the fact that ice water can be discovered there, which can be particularly useful for future crewed missions.
On 14 July 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched India’s third lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-3 (“Mooncraft” in Sanskrit). By the 5th of August, the spacecraft had reached lunar orbit and touched down on the lunar surface, on the 23rd.
As India celebrates this historic moment and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces the day to be marked as “National Space Day”, a rover from the Chandrayaan-3 lander will roll out to roam the grounds of the Moon for two weeks. Its investigation on the presence of frozen water and shooting images will provide vital information for ISRO’s future lunar missions and hence evolve India’s trajectory in the field of space exploration. ***
Comments