Isro Chairman S Somanath expressed confidence in a successful soft-landing on August 23, citing preparations and trouble-free progress on the integrated module and landing module. The world will be closely watching Vikram, which is expected to arrive just after Russia lost Luna-25. The landing module’s connection with Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter has been completed, and two-way communication between the lander and orbiter is now available for the Mission Operations Complex.
Isro Chairman S Somanath is confident about a successful soft-landing on August 23 amidst the tense excitement that grips Isro employees in the control rooms with engineers and scientists double-checking every element of the mission plan and validating calculations.
According to Somanath, the confidence is a result of all the preparations done before to the launch and the integrated module and landing module’s trouble-free progress on their mission to the moon.
“We are confident since everything has been going well thus far and no unforeseen circumstances have arisen up until this point. Up to this point, we have completed all the necessary preparations, and all systems have operated as required. Currently, we are getting ready for the landing by running several simulations, verifying and double-verifying systems, and monitoring the condition of the instruments today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday),” Somanath added.
The world will be keenly watching Vikram, and the fact that Isro’s arrival occurs just after Russia lost Luna-25 and against the backdrop of its own unsuccessful earlier endeavor heightens the suspense. After all, three of the four Moon landing missions have failed between 2019 and 2023. Except for China’s Chang’e 5, all other attempts during this time period—Israel’s Beresheet, Japan’s Hakuto-R, India’s Chandrayaan-2, and now Russia’s Luna-25—failed to touch down.
He also affirmed that the landing module’s vital connecting with Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter, which has been circling the moon since 2019, had been accomplished. “The testing and verification for connecting the lander with the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is complete,” he declared.
Isro went on to explain that by establishing two-way communication between the lander and Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, “more routes to reach the landing module” are now available for the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at the Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) in Bengaluru.
The components of Chandrayaan-3 include a lander, which will house the rover until it displaces onto the lunar surface after landing, and a propulsion module. They are to communicate as follows: The lander, rover, and Chandrayaan-2 orbiter are all linked with the lander for communication, whereas the propulsion module interacts only with IDSN (Indian Deep Space Network). Only the lander and the rover can communicate with each other.
A day after Vikram reached the pre-landing orbit of 25km x 134km, from which landing would be attempted on Wednesday, Isro also published four images of the far side of the Moon, the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth.
The Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC) photographed the region of the lunar far side. The Satellite Application Centre (SAC) designed this camera to aid in finding a secure landing place without boulders or deep holes during the descent, according to Isro. The day before Vikram entered the pre-landing orbit on August 19, all four of the photographs that Isro provided were taken.
Conclusion:-
Isro Chairman S Somanath expressed confidence in a successful soft-landing on August 23, citing the successful preparations and trouble-free progress of the integrated module and landing module. The world will be closely monitoring Vikram, as it comes just after Russia lost Luna-25 and against the backdrop of its own unsuccessful previous endeavors. The landing module’s connection with Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter has been completed, and two-way communication between the lander and Chandrayaan-2 orbiter has been established. The lander, rover, and Chandrayaan-2 orbiter are all linked with the lander for communication, while the propulsion module interacts only with IDSN (Indian Deep Space Network). Isro published four images of the far side of the Moon, the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth, the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC), designed to help find a secure landing place without boulders or deep holes during the descent.
