Isro set to launch Chandrayaan 3 on July 14; check spacecraft details

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is set to launch Chandrayaan-3 on July 14 at 2:35 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

The spacecraft will lift off from the rocket, Launch Vehicle Mk-III (LVM-3). The LVM-3 is a heavy-lift launch vehicle, which can carry a large payload into space. It is the most powerful rocket that Isro has ever developed.

The LVM-3 is a three-stage rocket, consisting of two solid-fuel boosters and a liquid-fuel core stage powering it. The solid-fuel boosters provide initial thrust and the liquid-fuel core stage provides the sustained thrust to propel the rocket into orbit.

After travelling for about 384,000 km, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is expected to land on the lunar surface on August 23.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft comprises a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), a lander (1,723.89 kg) and a rover (26 kg).

Following the landing, the rover will roll out to perform experiments. The life of the payload carried by the propulsion module after the ejection of the lander is between three and six months. The mission life of the lander and the rover is one lunar day or 14 earth days.

The moon mission is divided into three phases: the Earth-centric phase (pre-launch, launch and ascent, and Earth-bound manoeuvre); the lunar transfer phase (transfer trajectory); and the moon-centric phase.

During the first phase, the heavy-lift rocket, which is 43.5 metres in height and weighs 642 tonnes, will carry the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft. The rocket has a record of six consecutive successful missions.

While the rocket’s first stage is powered by solid fuel, the second stage is by liquid fuel, and the third and final stage consists of a cryogenic engine powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

At the time of blast-off, the 642-tonne rocket will have a total propellant mass of 553.4 tonnes, which includes all three stages.

Just over 16 minutes into its flight, the rocket will eject the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft at an altitude of about 179 km.

Country that have landed on the moon

Russia

Russia was the first country to successfully land on the moon in 1959. The spacecraft, Luna 2, was launched on September 12, 1959, and was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the moon, and the first human-made object to make contact with another celestial body. The spacecraft was launched by the Luna 8K72 s/n I1-7B rocket.

Following this success, Russia soft-landed on the moon in 1966. And the nation successfully retrieved samples from the moon on an unmanned mission in 1970.

USA

USA was the first country to send men to the moon. The iconic moon landing took place on July 21, 1969. American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. He stepped out of the Apollo 11 lunar module and onto the Moon's surface, in an area called the 'sea of tranquility'.

Till now, the US has landed 12 people on the surface of the moon in six missions. As of 2022, the country has made 11 soft landings on the lunar surface (most in the world).

China

China made its lunar landing with its spacecraft, Chang'e 3, on December 14, 2013. Chinese spacecraft Chang'e 4 completed its first soft landing on the dark side of the moon on January 3, 2019.