BENGALURU, Aug 21 (Reuters) – The Indian Space Agency on Monday released images of the far side of the moon as an Indian spacecraft attempted to land on the moon’s south pole, just days after the failure of a Russian lander. Published.
The Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft was in competition with Russia for the first landing on the South Pole of the Moon. Shadow craters in the region are thought to contain water ice that could support future lunar settlements.
Following news of Russia’s Luna 25 mission failure on Sunday, ISRO announced Chandrayaan 3 is on course to land on 23 August.
Chandrayaan, which means “lunar vehicle” in Hindi and Sanskrit, will be India’s second attempt to land on the lunar south pole. In 2019, ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully deployed an orbiter, but the lander crashed.
Rugged terrain makes an Antarctic landing difficult, but a first landing would be historic. Water ice in the region could potentially provide fuel, oxygen and drinking water for future missions.
Images released Monday showed lunar craters captured by the ISRO rover’s Dangerous Landing Detection and Avoidance camera. The camera is designed to help find a safe landing position for the rover.
The Indian lunar probe launched on July 14, and the Chandrayaan-3 landing module separated from the propulsion module last week.
For India, a successful moon landing marks the rise of India as a space power as the government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeks to encourage investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.
Former ISRO scientist Manish Purohit said: “The success of Chandrayaan 3 will enhance the Indian Space Agency’s global reputation. It will demonstrate that India is becoming a leading player in space exploration. will be,” he said.
It will also boost India’s reputation for cost-competitive space engineering. Chandrayaan 3 launched on a budget of about 6.15 billion rupees ($74 million), less than the 2013 Hollywood space thriller Gravity.
If the mission is successful, India will become the fourth country to successfully land on the moon after the former Soviet Union, the United States and China.
“India will acquire new technology with a successful landing. This is a big deal,” said K. Sivan, the country’s former head of the Space Agency, after the Chandrayaan-3 launch.
Learning from the failures of early lunar missions, ISRO scientists have made changes that increase the chances of a successful landing, such as enabling safe landing anywhere within the extended landing zone even under adverse conditions. He said he added it to number 3. It also comes equipped with more fuel, more solar panels and stronger legs.
Executives in India’s emerging space industry are also hoping for a boost. Since 2020, when India opened up to private launches, the number of Indian space startups has more than doubled.
Pawan Chandana, co-founder of Skyroute, which launched India’s first private rocket last year, posted on X (formerly Twitter), “The next three days are just ‘wonderful’! Looking forward to landing!” did.
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Reported by Nivedita Bhattacharjee from Bangalore.Editing: Jerry Doyle
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