​Right now at the launch pad of India’s Satish Dhawan Space Center, the LVM3 rocket (also known as Launch Vehicle Mark-III) is preparing to launch Chandrayaan-3, India’s second attempt to send a lander into space. A month after the Chandrayaan-2 lander crashed on September 6, 2019. The lunar orbiter of the Chandrayaan-2 mission survived and is still operational, so it will be used as a repeater for India’s hopefully future lunar lander.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission consists of three components: a propulsion unit (2.1 tons) that will deliver the probe to the Moon, a lander (Vikram) that will lower the probe to the surface of the Moon, and a rover (Pragyan). . The landing module together with the rover weighs 1.7 tons. The mission architecture is similar to that of the previous mission, but without an orbital module, as Chadrayaan-3 will use the orbital module of the previous mission, Chadrayaan-2, which is in lunar orbit and still active with sufficient fuel on board. .

A previous attempt to land the satellite failed due to software problems that caused the lander to deviate from its planned trajectory and eventually fall to the surface of the moon. The Indian Space Agency (ISRO) says the flight software has been revised and includes several options to avoid accidents: more fuel for a delayed landing if necessary, or software procedures to avoid the situation during the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

If all goes well and the launch takes place on the planned date of July 14, the lunar landing is scheduled for August 23-24, 70 meters south of the Moon’s South Pole. If for technical reasons the landing has to be postponed, then the backup date will be sometime at the end of September. Once on the surface, the lander and rover will remain active for about 2 weeks (at least this is the plan of the Indian Space Agency).

Both vehicles are not expected to survive a lunar night (a two-week period during which temperatures around the Moon’s South Pole drop below -100 °C) because they depend on sunlight to keep their batteries charged. ISRO says there is a small chance that the lander and rover will be able to hibernate and operate for more than 14 days, but that would mean extending the original mission.

Pragyan will descend on the lunar surface immediately after the Vikram lander lands, and Vikram’s cameras will continuously monitor the rover. On board the lander are two pieces of scientific equipment, one of which is a laser that targets rocks of interest for spectroscopic analysis. The legs of the lander are stronger this time to cope with higher speeds: if the previous lander had to have a speed of 2 m/s at the moment of touching the lunar soil, then the lander of the Chandrayaan-3 mission will be able to land safely, and if the speed is 3 m/s.

Unlike the previous mission, Vikram will have stronger legs to better support the higher terminal speed. It will have 2 engines that will be used in the final stage of selenization.

According to ISRO, the dress rehearsal for the launch, which lasted for 24 hours and ended on Tuesday, July 11, went off without a hitch. The release is scheduled for Friday, July 14th at 12:05 Romanian time, and the window available for this release lasts until July 19th.

The LVM3 (earlier GLSV Mark-III missile, renamed) is India’s most powerful launch vehicle, capable of lifting 10 tons into low Earth orbit or 4 tons into geostationary orbit, its desired target. The first stage is powered by two Vikas liquid propellant engines assisted by two liquid propellant boosters. The second stage has a single engine burning hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

India is no stranger to lunar missions: on November 8, 2008, the Chandrayaan-1 probe became the first Indian probe to orbit the moon, remaining active until August 28, 2009. The data transmitted by the scientific equipment of the probe confirmed the presence of water (in the form of ice, or in molecular form, in the structure of various minerals).

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