The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 mission will launch its lander and rover on Wednesday, August 23. Moon.
This is the third in a series of Indian lunar exploration missions. The mission was plagued by a number of problems. previous two Chandrayaan satellitesThe Indian space agency officials will be hoping that this mission is a complete success.
What will Chandrayaan-3 bring? We have some already Enjoy these images of the Moon surface taken by the lander module camera, which shows the successful separation from its propulsion module – the part that stays in lunar orbit. The lander and the rover’s main goal is to demonstrate that the ISRO has the capability to land gently on the Moon.
The lander unit is equipped with four scientific instruments including thermal and atmospheric instruments and a laser array retroreflector. These reflectors allow for a highly accurate measurement of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
In essence, a laser of high power is fired at the Moon. It is then timed to see how long it takes the light pulses to reflect off the Moon back to Earth. The time (roughly 2,5 seconds) taken to travel from Earth to the Moon and back gives us the distance. The lander can also measure moonquakes. weak seismic activityThis occurs every month.
It’s possible to estimate the density of the Moon using the speed with which waves traverse the Moon.
The rover contains scientific instruments. Its primary focus is to determine the composition of lunar surface by using scientific instruments. X-ray spectrometry.
Prior flights
Chandrayaan-1 is the first mission launched under this program. Both of the subsequent missions are based on this original spacecraft. The spacecraft consisted of two components: a satellite and an instrument designed to strike the surface with high speed.
In its first year, the satellite achieved some remarkable results, including Moon mappingThe wavelengths are varied. The mission was to identify the composition of the surface of the moon, with a focus on calcium, magnesium, and iron.
In conjunction with the probe onboard, the results were arguably the most successful. It was a planetary probe, which is a number of small instruments that are packed in aluminium and fired on the surface.
The probe allowed the orbiter not only to detect but also to prepare for an upcoming lunar rover. Liquid water on the Moon’s Surface. Long ago, it was believed that water existed as ice in the shadowed craters of the Moon’s poles.
The impact of the penetrator at high speed hurled large quantities of particles off the surface of the moon into the atmosphere. The chemical composition of these particles can be determined by analysing the way sunlight is scattered off them.
Chandrayaan-1’s mission was classified as a successful mission, despite its communication failure only halfway through its mission plan.
With the second Chandrayaan Mission, the intention was to send a lander with a rover on the surface of the moon. The orbiter arrived at the moon in 2019, and two and a quarter weeks later, dropped the Vikram lander with the Pragyan Rover.
Unfortunately, a similar accident to the one that happened with Chandrayaan-1 has occurred. Communication is lost and the combined mass of almost 1.5 tonnes – roughly the weight of a saloon car – crashed into the surface.
Third time lucky
Will the third mission break the curse that has plagued its predecessors? So far, everything is looking good. The mission launched on 14 July 2023 is still in communication with Earth five weeks after launch.
But the real test will come with the deployment of lander and rover. India will become the fourth country in the world to have a functioning rover on lunar surface, behind the Soviet Union, the US and China, if the mission is successful.
This will improve the agency’s reputation in scientific space launches and give it more power to fund future missions.
The mission of the organization is important, but so is the cost of US$75 million (£59 million) – an exceptionally low budget for a research mission leaving the Earth. This is similar to the cost for a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch.
It is worth comparing this cost to the recent NASA Artemis mission which has future planned costs per launch of US$800 million (£629 million) – not to mention the $13.1 billion (£10.3 billion) development costs over the last 20 years.
Chandrayaan-2 is still in orbit around the Moon. This means that there are still orbiters in the Moon’s orbit. There are many options.Chandrayaan-3 can be used as a backup communications platform in case of any problems. This will reduce the risk of mission failure.
Both the lander’s and the rover’s results, if successful, will help scientists identify future landing sites on the moon and possible locations for lunar bases. For larger structures it is crucial to have a good understanding of the landing area, because the costs are higher and there is a smaller margin for error.
Building structures using Lunacrete is a local resource. – using lunar soil as a cement-like building material – is a great way to reduce the mass that needs to be launched from Earth. The right material must be nearby.
Chandrayaan-3 is a project I personally hope will succeed, because it seems that more private companies are competing for space exploration and missions.
With the primary end goal being a commercial one – either tourism or Resource Collection – it is likely that that scientific discovery will be left out, reduced to an afterthought, or even hindered.
Every success of a space agency will result in more data that can be used by the scientific community as well as the general public.
Ian WhittakerSenior Lecturer in Physics Nottingham Trent University
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