Isro targets an August launch for Chandrayaan 3

The space agency planned for a third lunar mission after its lander rover failed to soft-land on the surface of the moon in 2019.

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The third mission will carry only a modified lander and rover and will use the orbiter of the Chandrayaan 2 mission to communicate with the earth. (Representative Photo)

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will target the launch of its third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, for August this year, according to a reply given by the Union Minister of State for the Department of Space Dr Jitendra Singh. “Based on the learnings from Chandrayaan-2 and suggestions made by the national level experts, the realisation of Chandrayaan-3 is in progress. Many related hardware and their special tests are successfully completed. The launch is scheduled for August 2022,” Singh said in the reply read.

The space agency planned for a third lunar mission after its lander rover failed to soft-land on the surface of the moon in 2019. The same year the Israeli Beresheet had also crashed on the surface of the moon. A soft-landing will make India the fourth country to do so and the first country to do near the lunar South Pole. India had previously crashed a probe at what is now called the Jawahar point on the moon.

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The third mission will carry only a modified lander and rover and will use the orbiter of the Chandrayaan 2 mission to communicate with the earth. During the 15-minute powered descent in 2019 from a 100 km round orbit around the moon to its surface, which the then chief of Isro referred to as the 15 minutes of terror, the reduction in the velocity was actually more than planned which resulted in the spacecraft crash landing.

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The mission was to initially take place the very next year, however, the coronavirus pandemic resulted in all big-ticket missions by the space agency being pushed back. Isro conducted only two routine launches last year, of which one aboard the GSLV rocket failed as the last stage of the vehicle did not ignite due to loss of pressure.

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To make up for the delays, the space agency is likely to have a busy year ahead, beginning with the pending launches from February onwards. “Several ongoing missions were impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, reprioritisation of projects has taken place in the backdrop of Space Sector reforms and newly introduced demand-driven models,” the minister’s reply in the Lok Sabha said.

The space agency is planning at least eight launches this year and four technology demonstrator missions.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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