New Delhi : The ‘lander’ component of Chandrayaan-3 has been named ‘Vikram’ and is set to detach from the spacecraft’s propulsion module today. Vikram will then undertake an endeavor to achieve a gentle landing on the lunar surface on August 23.
Vikram, the lander, is designed for a precise soft landing at a selected location on the Moon, where it will deploy a rover tasked with conducting real-time chemical analyses of the lunar terrain.
Both the lander and the rover are equipped with scientific instruments to carry out comprehensive research on the Moon’s surface. While Vikram disengages from the spacecraft, the propulsion module will continue to follow its established orbit.
On August 23, the Pragyaan lander and rover are scheduled to touch down on the Moon. As Vikram, the lunar lander, utilizes its laser beams to melt a portion of the lunar surface called regolith, it will also capture images of the Pragyaan rover.
The Pragyaan rover will then engage in studying seismic activities on the Moon, and the Vikram lander will photograph it during its descent onto the lunar surface.
On August 16, India’s ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully executed its fifth and final lunar-bound orbit maneuver, positioning the spacecraft even closer to the Moon’s vicinity.
With these maneuvers completed, the spacecraft will proceed to detach the lander Vikram from the propulsion module, marking the final stage of its journey toward the Moon.
Following the successful firing of its engines, Chandrayaan-3 entered a short-duration orbit of 153 km x 163 km, concluding the lunar-bound maneuvers. ISRO shared on X (formerly Twitter) that both the Propulsion Module and the Lander Module are preparing for their impending missions.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission launched the LVM3 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota on July 14, propelling the spacecraft into orbit. After entering lunar orbit on August 5, it is slated to perform a touchdown on the Moon’s surface on August 23.
Yesterday, ISRO achieved the milestone of positioning the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into a circular orbit measuring 153 km by 163 km around the Moon, successfully concluding the lunar-bound procedures.
