Highlighting the update of Chandrayan-3 ISRO confirms that it will gently land on the surface of the moon in two days at a minimum distance of 25 kilometers and Russian Luna-25 encounters a technical issue. According to ISRO, everything is now going smoothly. Let’s now examine several viewpoints.
Fuel:
It’s good news since there is far more fuel left than anticipated, according to ISRO Chairman S. Somnath. With more than 150 kg of fuel remaining, the Vikram lander, whose life expectancy was originally set at 3 to 6 months, can now survive for several years on the surface of the moon.
Last de-boost:
Before its gentle landing on Sunday, August 20, the lander successfully completed its final de-boosting. The LM orbit has been successfully decreased to 25 km x 134 km thanks to the second and final deboosting procedure.
Russian Luna-25 encounters a technical issue
Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft encountered a “abnormal situation” on Saturday as it was getting ready to transition to its pre-landing orbit, according to the country’s federal space agency Roskosmos.
The Russian spacecraft is expected to land on the south pole of the moon on August 21 – two days ahead of ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 landing on August 23.During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the manoeuvre to be performed with the specified parameters,” Roskosmos said in a short statement. Specialists are analysing the situation, it said, without providing further details, reported Reuters.
Two days before the ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 arrival on August 23, the Russian spacecraft is scheduled to touch down on the south pole of the moon on August 21.
A strange scenario on board the autonomous station developed during the operation, making it impossible to carry out the maneuver within the required parameters, according to a brief statement from Roskosmos. Without providing any other information, it stated that experts are analyzing the matter, according to Reuters.
Picture taken by both spacecraft
By Chandrayan 3
By Luna-25
Chronological events of Chandrayan-3:
July 6: The ISRO announced that the Chandrayaan-3 mission would launch from the second launch pad at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on July 14.
July 7: All vehicle electrical testing were successfully finished
July 11: 'Launch Rehearsal' completed successfully.
July 14: Chandrayaan-3 was launched by ISRO's LVM3 M4 into the desired orbit.
July 15: Bengaluru saw the success of the mission's first orbit-raising maneuver. The satellite arrived at an orbit measuring 41762 km by 173 km.
July 17: Chandrayaan-3 was placed in an orbit measuring 41603 km x 226 km by the second orbit-raising maneuver.
July 22: Earth-bound perigee firing, the fourth orbit-raising maneuver, successfully positioned the spacecraft in a 71351 km x 233 km orbit.
July 25: A second orbit-raising maneuver was successfully completed.
August 1: Chandrayaan-3 achieved a crucial milestone by entering a 288 km x 369328 km orbit around the moon.
August 5: The spacecraft reached the lunar orbit at a distance of 164 km by 18074 km.
August 6: The spacecraft's orbit around the Moon was decreased to 170 km x 4,313 km.
August 9: A second maneuver was carried out to lower the spacecraft to a size of 174 km by 1437 km.
August 14: The mission entered the 151 x 179 kilometer orbit circularization phase.
August 16: Following the firing, the spacecraft reached an orbit of 153 km by 163 km.
August 17: The landing module, which included the Pragyan rover and the Vikram lander, was freed from its propulsion system.
August 18: The spacecraft successfully carried out a 'deboosting' operation that shortened its orbit to 113 km x 157 km. Deboosting is the process of slowing down to get oneself in an orbit where the Perilune, the point closest to the Moon, is 30 km away and the Apolune, the farthest point, is 100 km away.
August 20: Chandrayaan-3 completed its final deboost operation, bringing the LM orbit down to 25 km by 134 km.
August 23: If all goes according to plan, the spaceship will touch down on the lunar surface.