The Sky's No Limit: Chandrayaan 3's Journey and its Impact

“How can the sky be the limit when there are footprints on the moon?”

?― Paul Brant

Our beloved ‘Yaan’ that’s trying to catch the Moon

Let’s start with addressing the man of honour – Chandrayaan the Third. In strictly factual terms, our very own Selenophile rocket is carrying three modules, fuel and other equipment. But when you look at our scientists devotedly observing each moment from the mission control, and kids glued to the TVs and smartphones with wide smiles and insatiable curiosity, you realize that this rocket is carrying so much more on its shoulders.?

Chandrayaan 3, a carrier of our hopes and the symbol of resilience and determination of our scientists, embarked on its journey into space from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on 14th July. Hundreds of waving flags and tinkering eyes bid it farewell as it disappeared into the clouds just moments after lifting off.

Mission

Chandrayaan-3 has three main objectives-?

• The first one is to make a safe and precise soft landing on lunar surface (a feat which Chandrayaan 2 missed to achieve by only 0.0006 per cent)
• Second is to observe and demonstrate the rover's mobility and exploration capabilities on the Moon
• Third is to conduct scientific studies to better understand the composition of the Moon's surface and lead to interplanetary technology development.

ISRO: Moving forward at Lightspeed

Everyone starts somewhere, what matters is the unwavering determination to keep moving forward. And ISRO’s accomplishments are the prime example of what can be achieved when great minds work in unison to benefit the nation as well as the whole of humanity.

A country which began with transporting rocket equipment on bicycles is now sending ambitious missions to explore the mysteries that surround the space, all because of the dedication of the people working relentlessly at Indian Space Research Organisation a.k.a. ISRO.

Since its formation in 1969, ISRO has carried out 116 spacecraft missions, 86 launch missions and has set its sight on multiple future missions.

And let’s talk about efficiency. Only a dedicated space agency like ISRO could make India the first country to reach Mars in its first attempt, and that too at a budget which was lower than the production cost of Hollywood space adventure movies like Gravity and Interstellar.

And that was not a one time thing, even Chandrayaan-3 mission is operating flawlessly so far at a budget which is lower than Adipurush (the movie of course), which was not really flawless to say the least.

But maybe comparing the budgets with movies is not right, right? So let's consider this, India’s Mangalyaan cost only Rs. 450 Crores, while NASA spent more than Rs. 6000 Crores on its MAVEN Orbiter mission.?

So, ISRO illuminates the path for every agency in India and the world, delivering the message that groundbreaking achievements can be attained not with excessively large budgets but with efficiency and determination.

Coming back to the Moon missions, what had gone wrong with Chandrayaan-2?

We all remember those heart-wrenching pictures of then ISRO chief, K. Sivan, getting emotional and crying when PM Modi was consoling him. That was after the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-2 had lost connection with the control station.?

Everyone was wondering what had undermined the tremendous efforts of our eminent scientists who had worked day and night on Chandrayaan-2.

Here’s a brief explanation: During Chandrayaan 2, the lander module named Vikram had faced an issue during its final descent, leading to a hard landing and loss of communication.?

The exact cause of the failure was later determined to be a velocity error in the lander's braking thruster system, which caused the descent trajectory to deviate from the planned path. As a result, Vikram had a hard landing and lost communication with the ground control.

However, all was not lost. Despite the lander setback, the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter module successfully remained in lunar orbit, conducting scientific observations and gathering valuable data. Hence, while the mission's main objective wasn't fully achieved, the orbiter's accomplishments made it a partial success. The mission provided important lessons for future endeavors in space exploration.

Okay, but what do all these ‘modules’ mean?

As I mentioned earlier, Chandrayaan-3 has three modules, let me clarify the function of these three modules in simple terms:

1. Lander Module: The lander module is designed to safely land on the lunar surface. It carries scientific instruments and equipment to conduct experiments and gather data about the Moon's composition and environment.
2. Propulsion Module: The propulsion module provides the necessary thrust and propulsion for the spacecraft. It helps manoeuvre the spacecraft in space, change its trajectory, and ensure a successful journey to the Moon.
3. Rover Module: The rover module is a robotic vehicle that is deployed on the lunar surface. It is equipped with instruments and tools to explore the Moon, collect samples, and perform experiments. The rover allows scientists to study the lunar surface up close and gather valuable information.

And this time, the lander module has undergone significant upgrades to address the issues faced in the previous mission. It now features stronger legs capable of withstanding higher landing velocity, increased fuel capacity, improved sensors, larger solar panels, and more advanced software and engine.

The impact of this mission and the future endeavours

If ISRO succeeds in this mission, it will elevate India to an exclusive group of only three other countries—the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China—that have achieved a soft landing on the Moon.

The successful completion of this mission would mark a significant leap forward in space exploration, fostering the development of interplanetary technologies. It would ignite a sense of pride and inspiration among the people of India, while also garnering substantial international recognition for the country's accomplishments.

Above all, it will be the proper reward for the years of efforts put in by the people engaged in Indian space programmes.

Regarding the future, ISRO also has an exciting lineup of upcoming missions like-

Aditya-L1 for studying the Sun, Mangalyaan 2 for further exploring the red planet, Shukrayaan for Venus and the ambitious Gaganyaan program for sending humans into space. So Chandrayaan’s success will also play a vital role in boosting the morale of scientists and researchers while providing valuable data for future space expeditions.

Conclusion

In the end, I would like to reiterate that Chandrayaan-3 holds great value for each individual of this human race. And we should not think that we can not be a part of these grand schemes as there’s so much we can do as nation builders. For example, spreading awareness about how there’s so much more in the universe than our minor issues, inspiring our young ones with the stories of our great scientists, and standing with our scientists irrespective of the outcome of this mission — These are not only our duties but also our privilege.

May this mission bear fruits, and may our nation flourish not only on earth but in the whole space. Jai Hind!