Chandrayaan 3, India's third lunar mission was on Friday, launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from Sriharikota. The hugely anticipated Chandrayaan 3 embarked on its month-long journey towards the moon, piggybacking on ISRO's latest heavy-lift launch vehicle, 'Fat boy' LVM3-M4 from the spaceport. With Chandrayaan-3 being a follow-up mission to the second lunar mission, the ISRO is aiming for a soft landing on the surface of the moon
ISRO and the team Chandrayaan received a fleet of congratulatory messages after the successful launch. The Chandrayaan-3 was launched into space by the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-III) which was earlier known as GSLV-III (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Marks-III). It was also used to launch Chandrayaan-2.
After Chandrayaan-3's successful launch into orbit, Union Minister Jitendra Singh says, "...This is a moment of glory for us, moment of glory for India and moment of destiny for all of us...I must thank team ISRO for making India proud. I also thank PM Modi for making this possible by unlocking the doors of Sriharikota and enabling India's space sector..." He also added that the total cost of the Chandrayaan-3 is around Rs 600 crore.
Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft carries a range of technologies with a total payload mass of approximately 3,895 kilograms. The technologies include laser and RF-based altimeters, velocimeters, throttleable liquid engines, hazard detection, and avoidance systems, and a landing leg mechanism. Taking special measures, ISRO has improved the onboard equipment in a bid to avoid any issues during soft landing on Moon. The lander has undergone a number of changes to be able to handle higher landing velocities.
