A year has passed since India marked a significant milestone in its space exploration journey with the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 14, 2023. The mission has since been hailed as one of the most critical achievements in the history of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), elevating its global reputation.
On August 23, 2023, ISRO accomplished a soft landing of its Lander Module on the lunar surface, a feat that solidified India’s position in the annals of space exploration. Within hours of the landing, the rover unit descended from the lander’s ramp and began its operations on the Moon’s surface. The mission’s design allowed the Lander Module to function for one lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days.
This achievement was particularly remarkable against the backdrop of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which experienced a last-minute failure during its soft-landing attempt in 2019. Learning from this experience, ISRO meticulously planned Chandrayaan-3, incorporating safeguards and emergency response protocols to ensure success. This diligent preparation bore fruit, making India the first nation to land near the lunar south pole.
The success of Chandrayaan-3 marked India as the fourth country to successfully execute a robotic landing on the Moon. This accomplishment garnered global astonishment, especially from major powers, as India, a developing nation from the global south, demonstrated its advanced capabilities in space technology.
India’s lunar aspirations date back nearly two decades with the Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008-2009, which made groundbreaking discoveries, including the presence of hydrogen atoms and water on the Moon’s surface. The orbiter from the Chandrayaan-2 mission, launched in 2019, continues to function and assisted Chandrayaan-3’s lander module in communications.
Operating on solar power, the lander and rover systems were designed to function for a single lunar day. As the lunar night approached, temperatures plummeted to as low as minus 150 degrees Celsius, beyond the design tolerance of the Indian system. On September 3, 2023, the systems were put into sleep mode. Despite attempts to reactivate them between September 22 and September 28, the efforts were unsuccessful.
The mission’s payloads yielded valuable scientific data. The lander was equipped with sensors to measure lunar surface thermal conductivity and temperature, seismic activity, and plasma density. Notably, it recorded vibration measurements from rover movements and potential natural lunar events, though further analysis is needed to confirm details like moonquakes.
The rover carried an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, which analyzed the chemical and mineral composition of the lunar surface, detecting elements such as sulphur, calcium, aluminium, iron, titanium, manganese, chromium, silicon, and oxygen. However, the search for hydrogen, crucial for assessing water presence, remains inconclusive.
ISRO’s innovative approach has helped it overcome significant limitations, such as the inability to develop heavy-lift launch vehicles. Unlike the Apollo missions, which reached the Moon in about three days, Chandrayaan-3 took over 40 days due to ISRO’s reliance on orbit-raising manoeuvres and slingshot mechanisms.
Looking ahead, ISRO plans to bring back samples from the Moon with the Chandrayaan-4 mission. This ambitious project will involve two separate launches to carry different parts of the spacecraft, which will be assembled in space before proceeding to the Moon. This requires developing expertise in space docking, a technology crucial for ISRO’s plan to establish a space station by 2035.
The triumph of Chandrayaan-3 has invigorated ISRO’s space ambitions. With the Gaganyaan programme on the horizon, which aims to send Indian astronauts to space by the end of 2025, India looks set to continue its remarkable journey in space exploration, inspired by the legacy of Chandrayaan-3.
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