The Chandrayaan-3 lunar exploration mission left this morning with the aim of making India the fourth country in the world to touch the ground on our satellite in a controlled manner. The mission, which was successfully launched at 11:05 a.m. (Spanish time) from the local island of Sriharikota, is scheduled to land on the moon between August 23 and 24 near the South Pole of the satellite.
The mission, which has departed from Earth weighing 3,900 kg, consists of three phases: a propellant, in charge of taking it to the vicinity of the Moon, in an orbit some 100 kilometers away from its surface, and which will do the satellite times so that the team of scientists can communicate with the rest of the elements; a landing module, with which to get down to the lunar soil, which is equipped with scientific instruments; and a small six-wheeled rover to explore the hitherto unknown lunar South Pole.
For the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), meeting the dates is essential to get the most scientific out of the mission. Instruments aboard the rocket depend on sunlight to function. Our star will begin to illuminate the area where the lander will arrive between August 23 and 24, and will keep it in light for 14 Earth days, which is equivalent to one lunar day.
Then, the area will remain in the shade for 14 days, at temperatures of up to 180 degrees below zero. By the time the sun shines again, scientists don't know if the instruments will still work.
That is why the moon landing must take place at the moment the sun begins to illuminate the area. It cannot be delayed, the director of ISRO, Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, explained at a press conference, because it would mean losing hours to carry out the experiments. If the team detects at any point that the mission will not reach the ground in time, it has continued, they will wait for the next window of opportunity, about 29 days later. During that time, Chandrayaan-3 will stay in orbit around the satellite.
Once landed on the lunar surface, the objective of the mission will be to explore the South Pole of our satellite. Years of satellite observations have identified the region as an area rich in frozen water, since the terrain's orography offers several regions that are in perennial shadow, which has also made it a target for the next US manned mission.
In the 14 days available to collect data, the Indian rover, equipped with cameras to avoid obstacles, will study the elements and minerals that make up the explored area. Meanwhile, the instruments equipped on the lander will analyze the thermal properties of the lunar soil, and measure the satellite's earthquakes and the density of electrons and ions near the surface.
In addition to these experiments, which will help to better understand the nature of our satellite, the mission will leave retroreflectors on the lunar surface, a kind of mirror that will allow a more detailed analysis of the gravitational interactions between Earth and Moon.
Third Indian mission to the Moon
Chandrayaan-3 is the third lunar mission launched by India. Its predecessors, of the same name, successfully came to orbit the satellite, but never managed to reach its surface in a controlled manner. The first mission, in 2008, had the objective of studying the Moon through satellite observations. It was orbiting the star for almost a year, getting a three-dimensional map of its surface, and found evidence that it contains water in the form of ice.
The second, launched in 2019, was intended to land on the lunar South Pole. However, shortly before touchdown, communication was lost with the lander, which crashed near where it should have arrived. However, the mission managed to leave a new satellite orbiting the Moon, which to this day continues to provide data for study.
