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India is on the verge of making history as the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) ambitious third Moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, is scheduled to land on the lunar surface on Wednesday evening. This milestone will make India the fourth country to achieve a successful soft-landing on the Moon and the first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth’s natural satellite.

Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module (LM) consists of the lander, named Vikram, and the rover, named Pragyan. The LM is set to touch down near the south polar region of the Moon at 6:04 pm on Wednesday. ISRO has confirmed that the mission is on schedule and all systems are undergoing regular checks. The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is reportedly filled with energy and excitement.

If the mission succeeds, India will join the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union as countries that have mastered the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface. Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2, which unfortunately failed in its lunar phase in 2019. This time, the primary objectives are to demonstrate safe and soft-landing on the lunar surface, carry out roving on the Moon, and conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission, with a budget of INR 600 crore, was launched on July 14 and is expected to reach near the lunar south pole after a 41-day voyage. The LM is currently orbiting the Moon at a distance of 25 km x 134 km. After internal checks and waiting for sunrise at the designated landing site, the powered descent for a soft-landing on the Moon’s surface is anticipated to be initiated at around 5:45 pm on Wednesday.

The critical process of soft-landing, often referred to as the “17 minutes of terror,” is entirely autonomous. The lander must fire its engines at the correct times and altitudes, use the appropriate amount of fuel, and scan the lunar surface for obstacles or treacherous terrain before touchdown.

ISRO will upload the necessary commands from its Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) a few hours before the scheduled touchdown to ensure a successful landing. During the descent, the lander will gradually reduce its speed by using its four thruster engines for retro-firing. At approximately 6.8 km altitude, only two engines will be used to provide reverse thrust as the lander descends further. Finally, at an altitude of about 150-100 meters, the lander’s sensors and cameras will scan the surface for obstacles before making a soft-landing.

After landing, the rover will descend onto the Moon’s surface using one of the lander’s side panels as a ramp. The lander and rover, both equipped with scientific payloads, will have a mission life of approximately one lunar day (14 Earth days) to conduct various experiments and study the lunar environment.

The south pole region of the Moon is of particular interest due to the possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas. Chandrayaan-3’s LM carries payloads to measure plasma ions and electrons density changes, conduct thermal property measurements of the lunar surface near the polar region, and monitor lunar seismic activity.

India’s progress in space exploration is indeed commendable, and the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 will undoubtedly be a significant achievement for the nation’s space agency, ISRO.

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