Chandrayaan 3 Landing: At what speed will Chandrayaan-3 land on the moon… understand what the lander and rover will do

Posted on 23rd Aug 2023 by rohit kumar

Chandrayaan 3 Mission: Four years after the failed Chandrayaan 2, Chandrayaan 3 will make its soft landing on the surface of the Moon on Wednesday (August 23) at 6.4 pm.

 

If Chandrayaan 3 soft-landing on the Moon's South Pole is done today, then India will become the first country in the world to do so. At the same time, after America, China and the then Soviet Union, India will become the fourth country to make a soft landing on the lunar surface. Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on 14 July after the failure of Chandrayaan-2. On August 5, Chandrayaan-3 entered the lunar orbit of the Moon.

 

 

Chandrayaan 3: Soft Landing Vs Hard Landing

A soft landing is where the spacecraft descends in a controlled manner. During landing, the speed will be less and the spacecraft will touch the surface of the moon with a speed of about 0.

A hard landing is a crash landing, where the spacecraft is destroyed upon hitting the surface.

Four years ago Chandrayaan 2 failed during soft landing.

After the failure of the Chandrayaan 2 mission, ISRO chief S Somnath assured that Chandrayaan 3 will have a soft landing.

 

At what speed will the spacecraft be?

Chandrayaan-3 will begin its descent from an altitude of 30 km at a speed of 1.68 kmph.

When the spacecraft reaches the surface of the Moon, its speed will be almost zero.

Today is the most important part of the spacecraft touching the lunar surface.

As the spacecraft moves towards the moon, it will turn from horizontal to vertical direction.

This is where Chandrayaan 2 faced a problem.

 

Chandrayaan 3: What will happen after a successful soft landing?

After the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3, the rover will separate from the lander and land on the lunar surface. The rover will conduct a complete analysis of the lunar surface.

The lander and rover will stay on the moon for one day, one lunar day is equal to 14 days on Earth.

Lander and Rover will study the area around the moon.

A lunar day is the time the Sun shines on the Moon.

As long as the sun is shining all the systems will work properly.

When the sun sets over the moon, it will get dark and the temperature will drop down to minus 180 degrees Celsius.

During this time the chances of survival of the spacecraft on the moon will decrease.

If the spacecraft can meet these challenges, it will prove to be another major achievement of ISRO.

 

Chandrayaan 3: What if today's landing is not successful?

ISRO Chairman S Somnath had already said that there is no chance of a mistake this time.

Even if all the engines and sensors of Vikram Lander stop working, it will still have a soft landing.

S Somnath said that it has been designed in this way.

Even if Vikram's two engines don't work this time, it will still be capable of landing.

If it still fails, ISRO will attempt a second landing on August 24.

 

Also Read: Chandrayaan-3 Landing: The last 15 minutes of Chandrayaan 3 will be a moment of fear, read why the future of the mission hinges on it

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