Twitter abuzz with best wishes for ISRO as Chandrayaan-3 moon mission launches successfully

India could be winning this year’s lunar race as a rocket called Launch Vehicle Mark III successfully lifted off Friday at 2:35 pm local time (5:05 am Eastern Time) from Sriharikota, a launch site on an island north of the metropolis of Chennai.

The mission, Chandrayaan-3, is largely a partial redo of a 2019 mission that ended in a crash and a crater. It’s India’s second attempt at putting a robotic spacecraft on the lunar surface, taking place amid renewed global interest in exploring the celestial body.

Abnormalities Could Delay Landing Till September

As crowds cheered, the powerful rocket lifted off into the sky. The spacecraft separated from the rocket’s upper stage 16 minutes later. A landing attempt could be made on August 23 or 24, in order to coincide with sunrise at the landing site in the moon’s south polar region.

The mission is expected to conclude a couple of weeks after the landing when the sun sets on the solar-powered lander and rover. Therefore, if Chandrayaan-3 encounters any abnormalities while in orbit around the moon, the landing could be delayed until the next sunrise in September.

It’s just to ensure the spacecraft gets a full two weeks to operate on the surface. Nevertheless, landing on the moon in one piece isn’t easy. A number of space programs have already failed attempting it. Will Chandrayaan-3 succeed?

Chandrayaan-3 Built Taking Past Complications Into Consideration

Chandrayaan-1, an orbiter, launched in 2008, followed by Chandrayaan-2 lifting off successfully in 2019 with the spacecraft entering the orbit around the moon safe and sound. But the landing attempt faced complications.

The lander’s trajectory diverged from the original path, while it was just 2.09 km above the surface. The issue stemmed from one of the lander’s five engines having slightly higher thrust than expected, ISRO chief S Somanath said a few days ago.

Interestingly, the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is still travelling around the moon, with its instruments being utilised for scientific study. Chandrayaan-3 is built taking past complications and mistakes into consideration.