Recently, India’s third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, was successfully launched onboard a Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3) rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This is India’s second attempt at soft-landing on the lunar surface after the failure of previous attempt, Chandrayaan-2, in 2019. So far, only three countries, the U.S., Russia and China, have successfully soft-landed on the moon. Chandrayaan-3 seeks to study moonquakes, composition of lunar surface and atmosphere, understand Earth’s life-like elements, how heat passes through the lunar surface and plasma environment on the Moon. The mission will demonstrate Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) ability of soft landing on lunar surface and roving on the lunar terrain. It is expected to be supportive to ISRO’s future interplanetary missions. 

While the mission objectives remain the same, unlike Chandrayaan-2, which consisted of a lander, rover, and orbiter, Chandrayaan-3 will launch with only a lander and a rover, utilizing the existing orbiter from Chandrayaan-2 for communication and terrain mapping purposes. 

ISRO adopted a “failure-based design” for Chandrayaan-3 instead of a “success-based design” used of Chandrayaan-2. It means that ISRO’s focus during the Chandrayaan-3 mission was on identifying potential failure points and implementing safeguards to ensure a successful landing.  

Learning from its Chandrayaan-2 failure, ISRO has implemented several improvements in Chandrayaan-3 to ensure success this time. Some of them are as following: 

• Landing area: The landing area has been expanded. Instead of trying to reach a specific 500m x 500m patch for landing as targeted by Chandrayaan-2, the current mission has been given instructions to land safely anywhere in a 4km x 2.4km area. 
• Strengthened legs: The legs of Chandrayaan-3 Lander have been strengthened to ensure that it would be able to land, and stabilise, even at a speed of 108 km/hour.  
• More fuel: The Chandrayaan-3 Lander is carrying more fuel than Chandrayaan-2 to enhance the Lander’s capability to make a last-minute change in its landing site, if the need arises. 
• Solar panels: The Chandrayaan-3 Lander has solar panels on four sides, instead of only two in Chandrayaan-2. This design modification enables the lander to continue harnessing solar power even if it lands in an incorrect orientation or experiences tumbling. 
• More instruments: Chandrayaan-3 incorporates additional navigational and guidance instruments to continuously monitor the speed of the lander and making any required corrections. 
• Updated software: Significant upgrades have been made to the hazard detection and avoidance camera, processing algorithm, and navigation and guidance software of Chandrayaan-3. Multiple layers of redundancies have been implemented to guarantee that alternative systems are available in case of any failure or malfunction. 
• Multiple stress tests: The Lander has been subjected to multiple stress tests and experiments. ISRO created several kinds of test beds at one of its facilities to simulate lunar landing conditions. 
• How is Chandrayaan-3 different from other moon missions? 
• Chandrayaan-3 is different from other moon mission as it will be the world’s first mission to try to soft-land near the lunar south pole.  
• All the previous spacecraft have landed a few degrees latitude north or south in the lunar equatorial region as it is easier and safer to land near the equator.  
• The surface near the lunar equator is even and smooth, with lesser hills or craters. Also, abundant sunlight offers regular supply of energy to solar-powered instruments. 
• The polar regions of the moon have numerous craters and many regions near lunar poles are characterized by lack of sunlight and extremely low temperatures, reaching below minus 230 degrees Celsius. The absence of sunlight and extremely low temperatures pose obstacles for instrument operation.  

Why ISRO wants to explore the Moon’s south pole?. 

• Unexplored region: The challenging conditions of the polar regions on the moon have discouraged exploration, but evidence from various Orbiter missions suggests these areas hold significant potential for exploration. For example, the 2008 Chandrayaan-1 mission indicated the presence of substantial amounts of ice molecules in the deep craters of this region.  
• Insights into early history of Solar System: Also, the extreme cold temperatures in the polar regions of the moon preserves objects as they remain frozen and undergo minimal change over time. As a result, the rocks and soil found in the Moon’s north and south poles have the potential to offer valuable insights into the early stages of the Solar System. 
• Presence of water: The Moon’s minimal axial tilt of 1.5 degrees results in certain craters near the lunar north and south poles never receiving direct sunlight. These specific areas are referred to as Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs). According to a 2019 NASA report, water can potentially persist for extended durations in PSRs, as certain areas maintain sufficiently low temperatures to keep water stable at the surface. 

Significance of the mission

• Gaganyaan: With a human-rated (thorough process to safely design, build and launch a crewed spacecraft) Launch Vehicle Mark (LVM) to be used for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission, the LVM-3’s successful launch of the Chandrayaan-3 has gained significance, as it has further enhanced the reliability of the launch vehicle.  
• Shift in India’s space programme: The Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan signal a shift in strategy. Earlier, ISRO seemed focussed on utilitarian objectives like enabling telecommunications, telemedicine and tele-education, broadcasting, or setting up remote sensing satellites. But space and planetary exploration is becoming a priority now. 
• Future space exploration: The ability to make a soft landing on a planetary body is a crucial technology which can impact IRSO’s ability to carry out, or participate in, other scientific missions to the moon. The US Artemis programme significantly expands the scale of future exploration. In the future, there is a likelihood of discontinuing the International Space Station, leading several nations, including the US, to explore the construction of more permanent structures on the lunar surface. India aspires to become a significant partner in these endeavors. 
• Boost to the Indian space-tech ecosystem: The successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 could bolster investor confidence and attract more private investment in space technology. This development will promote cost-efficient and highly reliable space-grade hardware provided by the Indian space industry for this mission. Moreover, it validates India’s industry as a potential supplier for lunar programs undertaken by other countries.  

Summing up

• As ISRO gets into scientific space exploration, it will most likely also face greater scrutiny and demands for accountability because space exploration has gained significant strategic, economic, and even military dimensions. It offers tangible power advantages, which is evident by the fact that major global powers are also leading space-faring nations. Hence, ISRO should swiftly progress in this new phase. 
• Moreover, the future of space exploration will heavily rely on collaboration, as the envisioned missions and infrastructure necessitate capabilities beyond the reach of any single country. However, collaborations will only be established with partners who can add value to the partnership. 
• India has the potential to exert a significant influence on global space policy and should actively pursue the establishment of a regional space alliance, such as an Asian Space Agency, to enhance collective bargaining power and become a formidable force in the field. While prioritizing the peaceful use of outer space, India must also remain cautious of the potential militarization of space. However, becoming a space power is a crucial initial step, and Chandrayaan-3 can propel India closer to achieving this goal.