India is once again gearing up to make history. Chandrayan III is all set for launch. It has reached the Satish Thavanspace Center in Sri Harikota for its launch in July 13, 2023.
All eyes are on the lunar spacecraft. The mood is both upbeat and apprehensive. Upbeat because astral scientists are confident that this mission will be a success and apprehensive because the memories of Chandrayan II are still fresh. As you know, Chandrayan III’s predecessor fell short of expectations. It was September 6th in the year 2019.
Chandrayan II was in the last leg of an otherwise successful mission but the vessel carrying a lot of hope and precious equipment to study the moon’s surface stopped responding. It was a grim day for Indians around the world, contact with the Vikram Lander was lost, the Isro chief broke down. You might have already seen the videos. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen consoling him. 20 days later, Chandrayan II’s remains were found scattered on the lunar surface but what happened happened. India did not lose hope. And four years on, Isro scientists are back with Chandrayan III. It’s all set to launch in about a month.
What is its objective?
Primarily to carry out a soft landing on the moon. Only the US, China and the Soviet Union have achieved this feat so far. Private firms have also tried. In 2019, an Israeli spacecraft crashed into the moon moments before its schedule touched down. More recently on the 25th of April, 2023, the Hakuto Lander built by a Japanese-based technology firm also failed. If Chandrayan III land safely on the moon, India will join the success club. And what happens after the landing? The spacecraft will be carrying a Lander and a rover. It will deploy them near the south pole of the moon.
What for?
To explore the lunar surface and carry out scientific experiments. And how much is all of this going to cost? Reports say roughly 600 crore rupees. That’s close to $73 million. Isro, you see, is known for its cost-effective and low budget space missions. You remember Mangalyan? India’s Mars Orbiter, which was launched in 2013. It was a massive success. It was merely a technology demonstrator. It was designed for a lifespan of six months. And yet it lived for about eight years in the Martian orbit. Eight long years. And how much did it cost? For 70 crore rupees. That’s roughly $57 million. And guess what? It was cheaper than the Hollywood Space movie Gravity released the same year. The film had a budget of $100 million. Almost doubled the cost of Mangalyan. Hollywood sci-fi hit Interstellar cost about $165 million. Meanwhile, Chandrayaan-2 was worth 800 crore rupees or $97 million.
Can you believe this?
Isro can put full blown satellites into the space with less money involved than Hollywood films. The space agency has come a long way. There was a time when Isro did not have mainframe computers. The picture on your screen is from 1981. Space equipment was hauled on bullock carts for testing. But as they say, Perseverance takes you places. Scientists made spacecraft with limited infrastructure in industrial sheds. Isro always came true. And today it is helping other countries launch their satellites. Chandrayaan-3 can take India to new heights. But it’s not the only Indian spacecraft venturing into space. Aditya L1 also is set to take off in July. It will be India’s maiden space-based mission to study the sun. The spacecraft will make a journey of 1.5 million kilometers.
It also has a nominal budget of 378 crore rupees. That’s almost $46 million. And then we have the Gagan Yang. The mission is still in the making, but significant developments are going to take place this year. Experts suggest it could take flight by the year end. And this mission takes things a step further. It aims to launch Indian astronauts into space. The Indian Air Force is the primary option for crew selection. Several candidates are already undergoing training to become astronauts. Isro is working full throttle on this complex mission. 2023 looks well-rounded for Isro. It has Chandrayaan-3 for the moon, Aditya L1 for the sun, and Gagan Yang for Indian crew in space. Not to forget, Isro has made several successful space launches this year already.
The most promising one was that of LVM-3 in March. Isro’s heaviest payload rocket took off with 36 one-web satellites onboard weighing 5,800 kilograms. The satellites were stationed in the low-Earth orbit. This was the second batch of satellites in association with the UK’s network access associates limited. The first one was launched back in October 2022.
There is a lot of excitement around Chandrayaan-3. The first Chandrayaan was a success. The second one had its shortcomings. And now all hope rides on the third one.
Will India make history?
Isro scientists are quite optimistic and the countdown begins now. Two weeks later, we will have all the answers.