Chandrayaan-3: ISRO Releases Photos of Moon's Far Side; Landing Set For Tomorrow
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New Delhi: As Chandrayaan-3 is just one day away from attempting a historic soft landing in the Moon's south pole region, ISRO shared photos taken by the mission of the moon's far side.
The photos were clicked by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera, which "assists in locating a safe landing area – without boulders or deep trenches – during [Chandrayaan-3's] descent," the space agency said on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday (August 21).
The Moon's far side always faces away from the Earth. It also receives sunlight but is often called the "dark side of the Moon" because there are many unanswered questions about it.
If Chandrayaan-3 successfully attempts a soft landing, India will be only the fourth country to do so on the Moon's surface and the first to do so near its south pole.
India and Russia were seen as 'racing' to the Moon's south pole region as the latter's Luna-25 spacecraft was also scheduled to attempt a landing there around the same time, but it crashed into the lunar surface on August 19.
The lunar south pole region has interested scientists due to the possibility that it contains pockets of frozen water in areas that have been in the Sun's shadow for billions of years.
Scientists think that water ice on the Moon could help sustain human missions there and supply propellant to spacecraft headed to farther destinations in space, the BBC reported.
Before it successfully lands, Chandrayaan-3 will have to manoeuvre itself from a horizontal position to a vertical one.
"This is where we had a problem the last time," ISRO chairman S. Somanath told the Indian Express, referring to Chandrayaan-2's unsuccessful attempt at a soft landing in 2019.
However, Chandrayaan-2's orbiter is still functional and established contact with Chandrayaan-3 in the last few days, ISRO confirmed on X (formerly Twitter).
Somanath also said that Chandrayaan-3's lander can touch down at the Moon's surface at a maximum speed of 3 metres per second (~11 kilometres per hour).
"Although 3 m/sec looks like a low speed, if a human falls at that speed all our bones will be crushed. [But] it is a speed we can guarantee with our sensors and measurements," the Indian Express quoted him as saying.
Chandrayaan-3's lander – named Vikram – is scheduled to land at 6:04 pm IST tomorrow (August 23).
This article went live on August twenty-second, two thousand twenty three, at thirty-seven minutes past six in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.