Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 Integrated Module
Mission type
OperatorISRO
COSPAR ID2023-098A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.57320
WebsiteOfficial website
Mission duration1 year, 1 month and 8 days (PM)
  • Propulsion module: ≤ 3 to 6 months (planned) 1 year and 17 days (since orbit insertion)
  • Vikram lander: ≤ 14 days (planned)
    1 year, 16 days
    (since landing)
  • Pragyan rover: ≤ 14 days (planned)
    12 days (final) (since deployment)
Spacecraft properties
BusI-3K(modified) Propulsion Module;
Vikram (lander) [1]
ManufacturerISRO
Launch mass3900 kg (8600 lb)[2]
Payload massPropulsion Module: 2148 kg (4736 lb)
Lander Module (Vikram): 1726 kg (3806 lb)
Rover (Pragyan) 26 kg (57 lb)
Total: 3900 kg (8600 lb)
PowerPropulsion Module: 758 W
Lander Module: 738 W (WS with Bias)
Rover: 50 W
Start of mission
Launch date14 July 2023 (2023-07-14), 14:35:17 IST (09:05:17 UTC)[3]
RocketLVM3 M4
Launch siteSatish Dhawan Space Centre
ContractorISRO
End of mission
Last contact22 August 2024 (2024-08-23) UTC[4]
Moon orbiter
Orbital insertion5 August 2023
Orbital parameters
Periselene altitude153 km (95 mi)
Aposelene altitude163 km (101 mi)
Moon lander
Spacecraft componentVikram lander
Landing date23 August 2023 (2023-08-23), 18:03 IST (12:33 UTC)[5]
Return launch3 September 2023 (2023-09-03)[5]
Landing siteStatio Shiv Shakti (Shiv Shakti Point)[6] 69°22′23″S 32°19′08″E / 69.373°S 32.319°E / -69.373; 32.319[7]
(between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters)[8]
Moon rover
Landing date23 August 2023
Distance driven101.4 m (333 ft)[9]
Moon lander
Spacecraft componentVikram lander
Landing date3 September 2023 (2023-09-03)[5]
Landing site40 cm (16 in) away from Statio Shiv Shakti (Shiv Shakti Point)[10]
(between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters)[8]
Flyby of Moon
Spacecraft componentPropulsion module
Closest approach7 November 2023

Mission insignia

Chandrayaan-3 (/ˌtʃʌndrəˈjɑːn/ CHUN-drə-YAHN) is the third mission in the Chandrayaan programme, a series of lunar-exploration missions developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).[11] The mission consists of a Vikram lunar lander and a Pragyan lunar rover was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and India became the first country to touch down near the lunar south pole, at 69°S, the southernmost lunar landing [12] on 23 August 2023 at 18:03 IST (12:33 UTC), made ISRO the fourth space agency to successfully land on the Moon, after USSR, NASA and the CNSA.[13][note 1]

Chandrayaan-3 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and became the first lander to touch down near the lunar south pole[12] on 23 August at 18:03 IST (12:33 UTC), making India the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon, and at 69°S, the southernmost lunar landing, until IM-1 landed further southwards in Malapert A crater on 22 February 2024.[13][note 2] The lander was not built to withstand the cold temperatures of the lunar night, and sunset over the landing site ended the surface mission twelve days after landing.[17][18] The propulsion module, still operational, transited back to a high Earth orbit from lunar orbit on 22 November 2023 for continued scientific observations of Earth.[19] It operated until 22 August 2024.[4]

  1. ^ https://www.isro.gov.in/NSPD2024/assets/pdf/CH3%20Landing%20Brochure-Pagewise.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ "Chandrayaan-3 vs Russia's Luna-25 | Which one is likely to win the space race". cnbctv18.com. 14 August 2023. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Chandrayaan-3". www.isro.gov.in. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b "UPDATE: The CH3 PROPULSION MODULE with the SHAPE payload last observed in a high Earth orbit appears to have ceased S-Band radio emissions". X (Formerly Twitter). Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Jones, Andrew (23 August 2023). "Chandrayaan-3: India becomes fourth country to land on the moon". SpaceNews.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Chandrayaan 3's landing site name 'Shiv Shakti' gets International Astronomical Union recognition". Hindustan Times. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  7. ^ "LVM3-M4 Gallery". Indian Space Research Organisation. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b "India launches Chandrayaan-3 mission to the lunar surface". Physicsworld. 14 July 2023. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  9. ^ @isro (2 September 2023). "Chandrayaan-3 Mission" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 September 2023 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander successfully 'hops' on the moon". Sky News. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  11. ^ Kumar, Hari; Travelli, Alex; Mashal, Mujib; Chang, Kenneth (23 August 2023). "India Moon Landing: In Latest Moon Race, India Lands First in Southern Polar Region". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b Kumar, Sanjay (23 August 2023). "India makes history by landing spacecraft near Moon's south pole". Science.org. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Chandrayaan-3 launch on 14 July, lunar landing on 23 or 24 August". The Hindu. 6 July 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  15. ^ a b "India lands spacecraft near south pole of moon in historic first". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  16. ^ a b Karanam, Durga Prasad; Bhatt, Megha; A, Amitabh; G, Ambily; Sathyan, Sachana; Misra, Dibyendu; Srivastava, Neeraj; Bhardwaj, Anil (3 August 2023). "Contextual Characterisation Study of Chandrayaan-3 Primary Landing Site". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slad106. ISSN 1745-3925.
  17. ^ "No 2nd innings, 'super over' for Chandrayaan-3, but Vikram & Pragyan had a great outing". The Times of India. 4 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Chandrayaan-3 goes dark again? Former ISRO chief says 'no hope of reviving' Vikram lander & Pragyan rover". The Indian Express. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Returns to home Earth: Chandrayaan-3 Propulsion Module moved from Lunar orbit to Earth's orbit". www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 4 December 2023.


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