Another feather in ISRO's cap. Yes, India's Chandrayaan-3 Lifts off. This historic event was witnessed live by almost 656K on ISRO's official youtube channel. I was one among them. At 2:36 PM on July 17, 2023, the Chandrayaan-3 was launched by LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) from Sathish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.
Chandrayaan-3, the follow-up mission of Chandrayaan-2, incorporates the Lander and Rover, which were carried over by the propulsion module. Both the Lander and the Rover have payloads for performing lunar studies.
Other than studying the lunar profile, the propulsion module also includes the Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) for the discovery of exo-planets to check the presence of life in them.
The serving ISRO chairman S Somanath, S. Mohana Kumar - the mission director, and P. Veeramuthuvel - the project director were quite delighted and congratulated their team's achievement.
Our Indian Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi, who is currently visiting France, congratulated ISRO on the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 on Twitter, quoting "This achievement to be a new chapter in the Indian space odyssey and a testament to the ISRO scientist's dedication".
The lander and the Rover are expected to land the lunar surface on the south pole region of the moon on 23, 24 August 2023. India would be the first to reach the South pole region of the moon, which has frozen water - a region of interest of every space agency. Waiting to witness yet another historic event!!!
Chandrayaan-3 Lander and Propulsion Module
Chandrayaan-3 Lander with Rover
Chandrayaan-3 - Rover
Happy Space Exploration!!!
