Chandrayaan-3 Update: Mission On Schedule, Says ISRO; Shares New Images Of Moon

Chandrayaan-3 Update: The Indian Space Research Organisation on Tuesday said that India's third lunar mission is on schedule.

The Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the lunar south pole on August 23. ISRO said that its systems are undergoing regular checks and smooth sailing is continuing.

"The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement!" the space agency tweeted.

ISRO also shared new images of the moon captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) from an altitude of about 70 km, on August 19, 2023.

"LPDC images assist the Lander Module in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard moon reference map," ISRO said.

India is eyeing to become the first country to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite. The LM comprising the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan), is scheduled to make a soft landing near the south polar region of the Moon at 6:04 pm on Wednesday.

If the Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeds in making a touchdown on moon and in landing a robotic lunar rover in ISRO's second attempt in four years, India will become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.

Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 and its objectives are to demonstrate safe and soft-landing on the lunar surface, roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near the lunar south pole.

The soft-landing is being attempted days after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control.

(With PTI Inputs)