Moon has always fascinated humankind. Mothers are inspired to sing a lullaby when feeding their child, for the aspiring lover to remind the sweetheart’s beauty or just because of the sheer beauty of it. The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. Numerous space missions have been undertaken as part of human exploration of the Moon. While the US focused on the crewed Apollo program, the then-Soviet Union conducted uncrewed missions. Luna 9 became the first to achieve a controlled soft landing in 1966. July 20, 1969, is a day for the human race to remember. On this day, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Regarding numbers, Russia (former USSR) and the USA lead the race with 58 and 59 missions. The complexity of the task is reflected in the success rate being less than 50%. Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first Lunar mission. The mission significantly boosted India’s space program, as India researched and developed its technology to explore the Moon. Chandrayan-2, though the lander crashed onto Moon’s surface, the lunar orbiter is functional, continuing its mission and providing valuable data. Chandrayaan-3 launched on 14 July. The mission has been successful and going as planned and envisaged. After getting separated, Vikrant, the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander module, succeeded in reducing its orbit. Carrying Pragyan in its belly, it is getting ready to touch down on the surface of the Moon on 23 August. Luna-25 (Russian lunar mission) crashing onto the surface of the Moon has raised concerns about the remaining journey of the Vikram. Let us hope that Pragyan will not disappoint and Vikram will guide it efficiently. With anticipation, India and the world would be waiting for the soft landing of Vikram and letting Pragyan go out and roam around.
Moon has always fascinated humankind. Mothers are inspired to sing a lullaby when feeding their child, for the aspiring lover to remind the sweetheart’s beauty or just because of the sheer beauty of it. The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. Its diameter is about one-quarter of Earth’s, making it the Solar Systems’ fifth-largest satellite. It is larger than many known dwarf planets in the Solar System.
Numerous space missions have been undertaken as part of human exploration of the Moon. While the US focused on the crewed Apollo program, the then-Soviet Union conducted uncrewed missions. Luna 2 of the Soviet Union was the first spacecraft to reach Moon’s surface successfully in 1959. Luna 9 became the first to achieve a controlled soft landing in 1966. The journey continued for Luna’s missions. Starting in 1968, the United States conducted crewed missions to the Moon as part of the Apollo program. July 20, 1969, is a day for the human race to remember. On this day, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Five more missions landed humans on the Moon. A few others, Japan, the European Space Agency, China, India, Luxembourg, Israel, Italy, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates, have conducted missions to the Moon. Regarding numbers, Russia (former USSR) and the USA lead the race with 58 and 59 missions. The complexity of the task is reflected in the success rate being less than 50%. The 50s saw the start of the launches and went up to 63 in the 60s and 23 in the 70s. The curiosity of other countries, including China, dominated the subsequent years, with relatively fewer moon missions.
The story of Chandrayan (Indian moon missions) Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first Lunar mission. It was launched on 22 October 2008 and was operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor. The mission significantly boosted India’s space program, as India researched and developed its technology to explore the Moon. Chandrayan-2: launched on 22 July 2019, the lander crashed onto Moon’s surface due to a loss of control (attributed to a software glitch) during the final descent phase. The lunar orbiter (Ch-2) is functional, continuing its mission and providing valuable data. Chandrayaan-3: The mission’s main objective is to achieve a soft and safe landing on the Moon’s surface and have a rover to move around the Moon and carry out scientific research. Launched on 14 July, the mission has been successful and going as planned and envisaged. After getting separated, Vikrant, the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander module, succeeded in reducing its orbit. Carrying Pragyan in its belly, it is getting ready to touch down on the surface of the Moon on 23 August. “Welcome, buddy!’. The ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed the Ch-3 lander module. Two-way communication between the two has been established. The mission controlling authority has more than one way to connect with the Chandrayaan-3’s lander. Once it reaches a soft landing, Pragyan will descend on the Moon’s surface and start its journey. The lunar day is roughly 29.5 Earth days, which is the length of a lunar month. The Moon has day and night sides, which change as the Moon rotates. Pragyan has 14 days to move and collect information, as it will be difficult for the electronics and support systems to work when the lunar day ends due to the extreme temperatures it will encounter. Luna-25 (Russian lunar mission) crashing onto the surface of the Moon has raised concerns about the remaining journey of the Vikram. Let us hope that Pragyan will not disappoint and Vikram will guide it efficiently. There will be a live telecast of the Chandrayaan-3 landing event. With anticipation, India and the world would be waiting for the soft landing of Vikram and letting Pragyan go out and roam around.
Irrespective of what happens from now onwards, the efforts of Indian space scientists and the team behind this mission deserve appreciation, support and encouragement for their effort.
India has several space missions planned in the coming years, from Gaganyan to Aditya. The latter is to study the secrets of the Sun.
Toons: Reema
Logs: M Sai Baba
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