India is celebrating its first National Space Day to commemorate the historic moon landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram. It landed at 18:03 IST on August 23, 2023, becoming the first spacecraft to achieve a comfortable landing at the lunar south pole.
To immortalize this milestone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared August 23 as National Space Day.
The opening occasion took place at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu, Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, and ISROArry President Dr. S Somanath.
As we celebrate India’s first Space Day, let’s take a look back at the historic moment when Vikram’s legs touched the lunar surface.
Vikram’s landing moment
The Chandrayaan-3 project lifted off on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. It included 3 main components: the Vikram lander, the Pragyan rover, and the propulsion module that propelled the first two into space.
He was also instrumental in placing the lander into lunar orbit after gradually lifting it from Earth.
After about 40 days, the lander was in orbit with the Moon and project controllers gradually lowered it to the surface. These goals were also met in 2019’s Chandrayaan-2, which had no propulsion module.
Vikram’s descent was the most painful part because those responsible for the project had no control over it, since the landing was automated. It was up to the onboard computer to scan the domain a few meters from the surface to find a better landing zone. using the knowledge provided through the lunar landscape.
As the world watched with bated breath, the screens at ISRO’s Telemetry Command and Tracking Network Mission Operations Complex in Bengaluru showed Vikram’s graceful descent. As the altitude decreased, applause began to echo throughout the complex, followed by loud cheers from the Chandrayaan project team.
By then, India had joined countries like the United States, the Soviet Union and China in achieving a comfortable landing on the Moon. In addition, it was the first to land near the lunar south pole. This position is now called “Shiv Shakti”. Spot”.
SEE ALSO: International Astronomical Union Recognizes Chandrayaan-3 Vikram Lander Landing as ‘Shiv Shakti Point’
A few hours after landing, the six-wheeled Pragyan rover was deployed and any of its parts operated for about 14 Earth days or 1 lunar day.
For two weeks, the Vikram lander conducted on-site experiments with its three payloads, as well as the Pragyan rover, which had two instruments.
One of the most attractive experiments was the jump experiment in which the lander jumped about 40 cm above the surface of its thrusters and moved 30 to 40 cm away from its initial landing area. mission.
Additionally, the propulsion module returned from lunar orbit to Earth orbit in some other successful experiment.
Chandrayaan-3’s knowledge continues to prove invaluable, as it recently helped scientists at the Ahmedabad Physical Research Laboratory gain evidence about the lifeform of a magma ocean on the Moon.
ISRO is currently implementing the Chandrayaan-4 project, which is expected to be unveiled in 2027. This will be a sample project aimed at bringing lunar soil back to Earth.
SEE ALSO: After All, We Know Where ISRO’s Chandrayaan-4 Project Could Land on the Moon