Chandrayaan-3
Indian lunar lander mission / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chandrayaan-3 (/ˌtʃʌndrəˈjɑːn/ CHUN-drə-YAHN) is the third mission in the Chandrayaan programme, a series of lunar-exploration missions developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).[11] The mission consists of a Vikram lunar lander and a Pragyan lunar rover was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and India became the first country to touch down near the lunar south pole, at 69°S, the southernmost lunar landing [12] on 23 August 2023 at 18:03 IST (12:33 UTC), made ISRO the fourth space agency to successfully land on the Moon, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the CNSA. [13][note 1]
Mission type | |
---|---|
Operator | ISRO |
COSPAR ID | 2023-098A |
SATCAT no. | 57320 |
Website | Official website |
Mission duration | 1 year and 28 days (elapsed) (PM)
|
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | I-3K(modified) Propulsion Module; Vikram (lander) [1] |
Manufacturer | ISRO |
Launch mass | 3900 kg (8600 lb)[2] |
Payload mass | Propulsion Module: 2148 kg (4736 lb) Lander Module (Vikram): 1726 kg (3806 lb) Rover (Pragyan) 26 kg (57 lb) Total: 3900 kg (8600 lb) |
Power | Propulsion Module: 758 W Lander Module: 738 W (WS with Bias) Rover: 50 W |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 14 July 2023 (2023-07-14), 14:35:17 IST (09:05:17 UTC)[3] |
Rocket | LVM3 M4 |
Launch site | Satish Dhawan Space Centre |
Contractor | ISRO |
Moon orbiter | |
Orbital insertion | 5 August 2023 |
Orbital parameters | |
Periselene altitude | 153 km (95 mi) |
Aposelene altitude | 163 km (101 mi) |
Moon lander | |
Spacecraft component | Vikram lander |
Landing date | 23 August 2023 (2023-08-23), 18:03 IST (12:33 UTC)[4] |
Return launch | 3 September 2023 (2023-09-03)[4] |
Landing site | Statio Shiv Shakti (Shiv Shakti Point)[5]
69.373°S 32.319°E / -69.373; 32.319[6] (between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters)[7] |
Moon rover | |
Landing date | 23 August 2023 |
Distance driven | 101.4 m (333 ft)[8] |
Moon lander | |
Spacecraft component | Vikram lander |
Landing date | 3 September 2023 (2023-09-03)[4] |
Landing site | 40 cm (16 in) away from Statio Shiv Shakti (Shiv Shakti Point)[9] (between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters)[10] |
Flyby of Moon | |
Spacecraft component | Propulsion module |
Closest approach | 7 November 2023 |
Mission insignia |
Chandrayaan-3 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and became the first lander to touch down near the lunar south pole[12] on 23 August at 18:03 IST (12:33 UTC), making India the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon, and at 69°S, the southernmost lunar landing, until IM-1 landed further southwards in Malapert A crater on 22 February 2024.[17][note 2] The lander was not built to withstand the cold temperatures of the lunar night, and sunset over the landing site ended the surface mission twelve days after landing.[21][22] The propulsion module, still operational, transited back to a high Earth orbit from lunar orbit on 22 November 2023 for continued scientific observations of Earth.[23]