India is attempting to land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon for the second time. The Indian space agency ISRO announced in advance that the mission “Chandrayaan-3” would begin Friday at 11:05 am CEST.
If the mission succeeds, India would become the fourth country to achieve a controlled moon landing. Previously, only the US, the Soviet Union and China had succeeded. The purpose of the mission is to demonstrate that it is possible to land successfully, ISRO said.
The spacecraft should also conduct various experiments and analyzes on the moon’s previously unexplored south polar region. If all goes according to plan, the lander will arrive on the moon on August 23 or 24.
The first lander crashed on the moon
In 2019, India’s first attempt at a soft moon landing failed. During the “Chandrayaan-2” mission, the “Vikram” landing module crashed into the surface of the Earth’s satellite. Space agency ISRO later told parliament in New Delhi that there were problems with braking during the approach to the moon.
India had previously had another mission to the moon: the first lunar probe “Chandrayaan-1” was launched in 2008 and circled the moon without landing on it.
India’s space program began in the 1960s. In the first decades, the focus was mainly on launching certain satellites into space at low cost. These satellites helped with communication and weather forecasting, among other things. In this way, India has gained a reputation for launching satellites relatively cheaply – also for other countries.
Missions to Mars and Venus planned
The country now has bigger plans. In addition to the current lunar mission, other projects are planned, which are expected to start from the end of 2024. So there should be missions to Venus (“Shukrayaan-1”) and to the Red Planet (“Mangalyaan-2”).
In addition, astronauts will be sent into space (“Gaganyaan”). The government also wants to rely more and more on the private sector, private companies are allowed to use the infrastructure of the space organization ISRO. Recently, it launched into space for the first time a rocket developed by a local private company.
Source: Krone
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