It has been almost four years since India’s last attempt to land on the moon, Chandrayaan-2, ended in a crash. On Wednesday, India hopes that the uncrewed Chandrayaan-3 mission will reach the lunar surface in one piece.
The citizens and government of India feel great pride for their country’s growing space program. But the stakes for Wednesday’s landing attempt were raised by Saturday’s crash of Luna-25, a lunar lander from Russia that will be placed in the same region of the moon as Chandrayaan-3. If India achieves a landing just after Russia fails, it will highlight the technological achievements of the world’s most populous country.
When is the landing and how can I watch it?
The Chandrayaan-3 landing module is expected to reach the moon’s surface on Wednesday at 8:34 am Eastern time (that would be 6:04 pm in India).
The country’s space program, the Indian Space Research Organization, will provide a livestream from the mission control room in Bengaluru. You can watch it at ISRO’s channel on YouTube o website starting at 7:50 am Eastern.
What is Chandrayaan-3?
Chandrayaan means “moon craft” in Hindi. In addition to the propulsion module that propels the spacecraft into orbit around the moon, the landing module consists of the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover that will attempt to plunge to the lunar surface in the moon’s south polar region. The mission was robotic and had no astronauts on board.
The August 23 landing was chosen because it was the day when the sun would rise at the landing site. The mission was to be completed two weeks later when the sun went down. While on the surface, the solar-powered lander and rover will use an array of instruments to make thermal, seismic and mineralogical measurements.
Why did India land on the moon?
India’s space program is a source of national pride, as is the country’s growing cadre of commercial space startups. India’s recent efforts in space exploration also closely mirror the country’s diplomatic push as an ambitious power on the rise.
“Thanks to our scientists, India has a very rich history in the space sector,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after the launch of Chandrayaan-3 to the moon last month. “This remarkable mission will carry the hopes and dreams of our nation.”
But Chandrayaan-3 also comes amid renewed interest in lunar exploration. Both the United States and China intend to send astronauts there in the coming years, and more robotic missions from Japan and the United States could head there this year. Like India, many other lunar missions are aimed for the moon’s south polar region. Scientists believe it may contain water ice that could be used by astronauts in the future.
What happens during landing?
Chandrayaan-3 was launched on July 14 on a slow but economical journey. It entered lunar orbit on August 5, and has since moved its orbit closer to the lunar surface in preparation for landing.
The lander is in an elliptical lunar orbit, hovering about 15 miles above the surface. On Wednesday around 8:15 am Eastern time, ISRO said the spacecraft will fire its engines to lift Vikram out of orbit and begin its descent to the surface. The engines will further brake on its descent, with a soft landing expected within 20 minutes later.
