India is once
again preparing to go to the moon. The
Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO) has announced that its new mission Chandrayaan-3
is scheduled to launch in the middle of this month. This is India's third
mission to the moon.
This is the continuation of Chandrayaan-2. Through this mission, ISRO is
attempting a 'soft landing' on the moon. So
far, only Russia, America, and China have been able to do a soft landing on the moon.
ISRO has also announced that the solar
mission Aditya-L1 will be launched by the end of August this year. However,
most of the discussion is about Chandrayaan-3. Why is Chandrayaan-3 being
launched, what is its cost and what are the objectives of this launch? We have
tried to find out the answers to a few questions about this.
When is
Chandrayaan-3 being launched?
India's Space
research agency ISRO chief S. Somnath has said in his recent statement that
almost all preparations for the launch of Chandrayaan-3 are complete. The work
of the Spacecraft on this mission has been completed. He said that its tests
and evaluation have also reached the final stages. He said that the time
between July 12 and 19 is suitable for this experiment. After completing all
other tests, we will announce the exact date when the test will be conducted.
This means ISRO can announce the launch date in a few days. However, some media
organizations have published news in this regard. According to reports, ISRO
officials said that the launch will be done on July 13 at 2.30 pm. The media
also said that this spacecraft will land on the moon on
August 23. The spacecraft is going to be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space
Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. LVM-3 rocket will be used for this. This
rocket was earlier known as GSLV Mark III.
What is
Chandrayaan-3 Mission?
Chandrayaan-3
launch cost is around Rs 615 crore. ISRO has three objectives for its mission.
These include performing a safe 'soft landing' on the lunar surface, launching
a lunar rover (lunar vehicle), and conducting experiments on the lunar surface.
Like India's earlier mission Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 will also include a
lander (which will make a soft landing on the lunar surface) and a rover (which
will orbit the lunar surface). The mission is expected to make a soft landing
on the moon's
south pole.
So far, India's Space
research agency ISRO has attempted a soft landing on the moon
through Chandrayaan-2. But the Vikram lander crash-landed on the lunar surface.
Learning from this, ISRO has made changes in the design of Chandrayaan-3.
IANS has published
a report that the current lander and rover may be given the same names as the
previous lander Vikram and rover Pragyan. Through this mission, chemicals, soil, and water
molecules will be tested on the moon.
Through this, we have got an opportunity to know more about the moon. A
number of instruments, including a seismometer, are being sent to the existing
spacecraft to detect tremors on the moon.
With their help, it will be possible to study the atmosphere
and temperature
on the surface of the moon. The
Spectro polarimetry of the Habitable Planet Earth
(SHAP) instrument may make it possible to study Earth
from lunar orbit. And many new things can be learned about Earth
as a result of this mission.
Why is the
Chandrayaan-3 mission important?
Chandrayaan-3 is
very important not only for India but also for the scientists of the world. A
new lander is being sent to areas where no one has reached the moon.
Through this, we will get a chance to know more details about the moon.
This knowledge will be useful for future missions to the moon as
well as planets.
What did ISRO achieve from the Chandrayaan-1
and Chandrayaan-2 missions?
India's Space
research agency ISRO's Chandrayaan program is the third launch of the 'Indian
Lunar Exploration Programme’. Chandrayaan-1 was first launched in 2008. It sent
a lunar impact probe into orbit around the moon. One
of these spacecraft crash-landed at Jawahar Point on the moon's
surface. But with this launch, India made history as the fourth country to
hoist its flag on the moon.
India lost communication with Chandrayaan-1, 312 days after the launch. At the
time, India's Space
research agency ISRO announced that 95 percent of the mission's set goals had
been achieved. Experts termed this success as a big step in the Chandrayaan
launch. While India's second moon
mission Chandrayaan-2 detected water
molecules on the moon. On
22 July 2019, ten years after India's first mission, ISRO launched the Vikram
lander and the Pragyan rover through the Chandrayaan-2 mission. On September 6,
2019, Vikram lost contact with the lander during a soft-landing attempt on the
lunar surface. However, three months later, the American Space
research agency NASA identified the wreckage of this lander. Despite the
failure of the Vikram lander, India's spacecraft continues to orbit the moon and
provide valuable information about its atmosphere.
Now Chandrayaan-3 is ready to complete this mission.
What are Artemis Accords?
India is not the
only country in the world that is preparing to go to the moon.
Recently, the media is talking about the Artemis program of the American Space
Agency NASA. Under this program, the spacecraft named Artemis One went to the moon and
returned directly to the Earth.
Japan, South Korea, China, and Russia are also experimenting. Some of these countries
are working with the European Union. NASA and the US State Department have
established the Artemis Accords to coordinate these missions. Along with the moon,
Mars, and other planets, these agreements are being made to explore and use
their resources for peaceful purposes. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also
signed this agreement with the US during his recent visit to the US.
Why are these countries paying so much
attention to experiments on the moon?
While some
experts are calling it a Space
race, others are calling it an exhibition of their advanced technological
capabilities in front of the nations of the world. When it comes to India, we
cannot rule out the argument of competition with China. China is planning to
launch Changi Six, Changi Seven, and Changi Eight with Russia. It also plans to
build a research station on the moon. Space
race arguments aside, current moon
missions will be key to future missions to other planets, including Mars. Dr. Lucinda King, Space
project manager at the University of Portsmouth, said it would take less fuel
to send spacecraft to places far from the moon than
to Earth.
These missions are also being sent this decade to find out the resources needed
to keep humans on the moon for
long periods of time.
What is India's Solar Mission Aditya L One?
Chandrayaan-3 is
not India's only major Space
mission launched this year. India's Space
Research Organization (ISRO) is also sending a spacecraft to the Sun. Aditya
L-One is India's first solar
mission. However, this spacecraft will not pass completely over the Sun. It
will study the Sun from a distance of 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
The L-one or anchorage point between the Sun and the Earth
is the point where the gravitational forces of both the Sun and the Earth
are equal. Aditya L-One can be used to study the Sun's outer surface,
chromosphere, corona, gravitational field, and solar
wind. So far, only NASA, the German Aerospace Center, and the European Space
Agency have sent probe missions to the Sun.
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