The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief, S. Somanath, has announced that the Vikram lander of India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission is scheduled for a soft landing on the Moon's surface on August 23. Notably, this landing is designed to be successful even in the event of engine failure.
During a discussion titled "Chandrayaan-3: Bharat’s Pride Space Mission," organized by NGO Disha Bharat, Somanath emphasized that the soft landing would be executed even if both engines and sensors encounter issues. The primary challenge lies in transitioning Vikram from a horizontal to a vertical position for the landing.
Somanath explained that after the lander separates from the orbiter, it will initially move horizontally. Through a series of manoeuvres, the lander will then be rotated to a vertical orientation to ensure a secure landing on the Moon's surface. The success of this transition is crucial, as a similar issue had hindered the Chandrayaan-2 mission.
He emphasized that the design of the Vikram lander has been enhanced to handle various failures. In the event of total sensor and system failure, the lander's propulsion system is engineered to facilitate a soft landing.
Chandrayaan-3's mission began on July 14, entering lunar orbit on August 5. To bring it closer to the Moon's surface, three de-orbiting maneuvers are planned for August 9, 14, and 16, reducing its orbit to 100 km x 100 km. The final landing on August 23 will involve a separation exercise for the lander propulsion module.
Somanath acknowledged the challenge of conserving fuel during the mission and emphasized that Vikram's landing attempts have been optimized even in the face of computational variations.
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The Chandrayaan-2 mission had experienced difficulties in landing its lander safely on the Moon's surface. The Chandrayaan-3 mission aims to rectify these issues by refining the landing approach and incorporating lessons learned from previous attempts.
Inputs from IANS
