Recently, the Propulsion Module (PM) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, brought the Vikram lander within 100 km of the Moon’s surface before detaching. This achievement involved a regulated descent towards the lunar surface and a successful return to Earth’s orbit.
The background of India’s Chandrayaan missions
India has carried out three successful lunar missions, namely Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2, and Chandrayaan-3. Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, was the first Indian mission to the Moon. This mission orbited the Moon and observed it using onboard instruments.
Several crucial findings came out of this historic mission: verification of water presence on the moon, the discovery of lunar caves formed by ancient lunar lava flows, and signs of past tectonic activities on the lunar surface. The identified faults and fractures might be features of past interior tectonic activity and meteorite impacts.
Overview of Chandrayaan-2
Chandrayaan-2, an integrated spacecraft consisting of an orbiter, a lander named Vikram, and a rover named Pragyan, was launched on July 22, 2019. It aimed to study the Moon through these three components. Although the lander crashed due to high velocity while attempting to land on the lunar surface, the orbiter remains functional and is in communication with the Chandrayaan-3 lander.
Understanding Chandrayaan-3
Launched on July 14, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 was India’s third lunar mission and the second attempt at achieving a soft landing on the lunar surface. It consists of an indigenous Lander module (LM), a Propulsion module (PM), and a Rover. The mission had objectives to demonstrate safe landing, roving on the moon, and conducting in-situ scientific experiments.
The Chandrayaan-3 Propulsion Module and its function
Distinctively, the Chandrayaan-3 mission utilized a lightweight Propulsion Module (PM) for the lander’s journey to the Moon, in place of a complete orbiter. This propulsion module carried a single instrument called SHAPE (SpectroPolarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth). SHAPE is an experimental payload designed to study the Earth’s characteristics that make it habitable and aims to identify potentially habitable exoplanets.
Post the detachment of the propulsion module, the lander carried the Pragyan rover. It was expected to orbit the moon for an additional six months while SHAPE continued to observe Earth.
The return of the Propulsion Module to Earth Orbit
The successful return of the Propulsion Module to Earth’s orbit allowed ISRO to work towards the development of advanced software modules. Considering fuel availability and safety, the team designed an efficient trajectory for the Earth’s return. The SHAPE payload is operated whenever Earth is visible, assisting in a critical operation.
Finally, relating Chandrayaan’s success to the UPSC Civil Services Examination, aspirants should consider the following question asked in 2016: Consider the following statements: (2016) The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit Mars after USA made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit Mars in its very first attempt. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?