Chandrayaan-3: The Indian Space Research Centre took to X, formerly, Twitter, to inform about the separation of the Lander Module (LM) from the Propulsion Module (PM). The tweet also read that the LM is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for 18 August 2023 around 1600 Hrs., IST.
It is worth noting that no other nation has achieved a successful landing on the south pole of the Moon, which is a groundbreaking moment in the history of the Earth’s only natural satellite.
In the recent embarkments, the Indian Space Research Organisation is all set to achieve a soft landing on the moon with its Chandrayaan 3 mission. The Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft is scheduled to proceed with a soft landing on the moon on 23 August 2023. With this, India will become the only 4th nation in the world to achieve this magnificent milestone after Russia, the USA, and China.
Meanwhile, the Propulsion module will continue its journey in the current orbit for quite some time as per ISRO. The SHAPE payload on the PM would, during this time, perform a spectroscopic study of the Earth’s atmosphere and also measure the variations in polarization from the clouds on Earth to accumulate signatures of Exoplanets that would qualify for our habitability, ISRO stated.
The world awaits the subsequent steps, resulting in the highly anticipated touchdown attempt that pledges to push the boundaries of scientific research and discovery, as India's space agency manoeuvres each step with precision.
The soft landing is certainly not a simple operation because it involves a series of sophisticated motions that include both rough and precise braking. Following the soft landing, the six-wheeled rover will conduct experiments on the lunar surface for one lunar day (14 earth days).