Isro's third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3 is hours away from touching down on the moon and the world is eager to witness the historic event. Ahead of the scheduled touchdown, Isro has asked schools and other educational institutions to host live-streaming sessions of the Chandrayaan-3 landing.
In a statement, India's space research body said, “The soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 is a monumental moment that not only fuels curiosity but also sparks a passion for exploration within the minds of our youth. It generates a profound sense of pride and unity as we collectively celebrate the prowess of Indian science and technology. It will contribute to fostering an environment of scientific inquiry and innovation.”
“In light of this, all schools and educational institutions across the nation are invited to play an active role in this historic event. The institutions are invited to actively publicise this event among your students and faculty and organise the live streaming of the Chandrayaan-3 soft landing within the premises,” Isro added.
Where is Chandrayaan-3 now?
The lander module of Chandrayaan-3 is currently orbiting the moon from a distance of 134 km at its furthest point and 25 km at its nearest.
When will Chandrayaan-3 land on moon?
India's third lunar spacecraft will land on the moon' south polar region at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, August 23.
How to watch Chandrayaan-3 landing?
Chandrayaan-3 landing can be livestreamed on Isro's official website isro.gov.in as well as it official YouTube channel and Facebook page on August 23 from 5.20 pm onwards. DD National will also broadcast the milestone event on Wednesday. Isro tweeted, "The live telecast of the landing operations at MOX (Mission Operations Complex)/ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network) begins at 17:20 Hrs. IST on August 23, 2023."
What is the purpose of Chandrayaan-3?
Isro says Chandrayaan-3 will also demonstrate safe and soft landing on the lunar surface as well as rover roving on the moon. Once landed, rover deployed from the lander will conduct in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during its 14-day life.
The Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload in the propulsion module will study the spectral and polarimetric measurements of earth from the lunar orbit.
Why is Chandrayaan-3 a risky mission?
Isro Chairman S Somnath earlier said the most critical part of the lunar landing is the process of bringing the velocity of the lander from 30 km height to the final landing. He added that the tricky situation in this process is moving the spacecraft from horizontal to vertical direction.
Will Chandrayaan-3 landing schedule change?
Nilesh M Desai, director, Space Applications Centre-ISRO, Ahmedabad, said the landing may be postponed to August 27 if conditions are unfavourable. "On August 23, two hours before Chandrayaan-3 lands on the moon, we will take a decision on whether or not it will be appropriate to land it at that time based on the health of the lander module and the conditions on the moon. In case, if any factor appears to be not favourable, then we will land the module on the Moon on August 27. No problem should occur and we will be able to land the module on August 23," Nilesh told ANI.