New Frontiers in Lunar Exploration: Chandrayaan-3 Mission & beyond
Day: Thursday 17 October
Time: 17:45 - 18:45 CEST
Location: Auditorium, Level 3, South Wing, MiCo Convention Centre
The soft landing on August 23rd, 2023 has marked a significant milestone in India’s momentous space journey. The day has been declared as National Space Day clearly exhibiting the importance of the mission to not just the technologists and scientists but also to the nation at large.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was precisely launched into its intended orbit by LVM3 launch vehicle on July 14th 2023. All mission sequences, right from launch, orbit positioning, and soft landing to roving operations were executed flawlessly. The innovative mission management for the spacecraft to arrive at the lunar orbit embodies the frugal approach to various engineering challenges.
Chandrayaan-3 explored a region of the Moon, which is near the South Pole, that has never been visited before. Chandrayaan-3's measurements have discovered the presence of elements, namely, Aluminum (Al), Sulphur (S), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), and Titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface, along with Manganese (Mn), Silicon (Si), and Oxygen (O). The wealth of data collected during the mission including high-resolution images and the real-time videos would significantly contribute to our understanding of lunar features and geology.
Chandrayaan-3 team was also a perfect blend of top class experts in space with long years of experiences, middle level scientists and engineers, women scientists and also the relatively new recruits. International collaboration spanning multiple borders was also a key aspect of the mission through support from ground stations and instruments. Notwithstanding the technological competence and excellence that the mission has demonstrated, it has also served to enhance and further enthuse the allure of space across generations and beyond borders.
With this success, India has already planned a few more missions to explore Moon, which shall lead to the landing of Indian on the Moon’s surface in 2040, as announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.
