Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches Chandrayaan-3 from southern India
by Surya PrakashThe Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made history by sending it’s lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-3 from southern India’s Andhra Pradesh.
The launch was made from the Satish Dhawan Space Station in Sriharikota on July 14.
Visuals showed the spacecraft take off after the countdown. It soared straight into the sky and made its way onwards and upwards by piercing the clouds and leaving a trail of smoke behind it. It was history in the making and a proud moment for all Indians. A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used to launch this spacecraft. It has also been learnt that the spacecraft has crossed the orbit and all its parameters are normal.
According to reports, if all goes as per plan, Chandrayaan-3 would land on the moon on August 23 at 5:47 pm after a 40-day journey. Should this turn out to be successful, India would become the fourth country after the United States of America (USA), Russia and China to achieve this amazing feat. It has to remembered that this is India’s third attempt at doing so.
Chandrayaan-2 had failed to soft land in 2019 after which several changes were made to this third moon mission by the ISRO. Chandrayaan-3 weighs around 3,900 kgs and has a propulsion module, a lander (Vikram) and a rover (Pragyan) and it aims to conduct in-situ experiments on the surface of the moon. In order to be able to complete landings at higher velocities, the lander this time has been equipped with stronger legs.
In 2019, it was a heartbreaking moment for the whole country when Chandrayaan-2 failed to make a soft landing on the moon after being launched. When a spacecraft lands on the moon without crashing, it is when a soft landing takes place. It was also learnt that a huge crowd had gathered at Sriharikota to witness this historic event.