Chandrayaan-3 Mission Sets Sail with a Budget of 615 Crore, Pioneering Lunar Exploration with Advanced Technologies

                                     

Chandrayaan-3, the upcoming mission following Chandrayaan-2, showcases the remarkable strides we have made in lunar exploration. Chandrayaan-2 successfully demonstrated the capability of safe landing and orbiting on the lunar surface, a feat that we aim to build upon with Chandrayaan-3. This mission, comprising a lander and rover configuration, will be launched with the LVM3 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.

The propulsion module of Chandrayaan-3 will propel the lander and rover configuration to a lunar orbit of up to 100 kilometers. Notably, this module carries the Spectro-Polarimeter of the Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload, which will conduct comprehensive spectral and polar metric measurements of our own planet Earth from the vantage point of lunar orbit.

The lander payload encompasses a suite of sophisticated instruments. Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) will help in precise measurement of thermal conductivity and temperature. The Lunar Seismic Activity Instrument (ILSA) will diligently monitor seismicity in the vicinity of the landing site. Additionally, the lander will feature a Langmuir probe (LP) to estimate plasma density and its fluctuations. Furthermore, a NASA passive laser retroreflector array has been specially calibrated to enable lunar laser ranging studies.
The rover payload comprises advanced tools such as the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS). These cutting-edge instruments will facilitate in-depth elemental analysis of the lunar surface in the vicinity of the landing site.
Chandrayaan-3 comprises an indigenous Lander Module (LM), Propulsion Module (PM), and a Rover, representing our quest to develop and showcase pioneering technologies required for interplanetary missions. The primary objective of the lander is to achieve a gentle and controlled landing at a designated lunar site, followed by the successful deployment of the rover. The rover, in turn, will undertake detailed in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface as it traverses the moon’s terrain. Both the lander and rover carry an array of scientific payloads to conduct experiments and investigations on the lunar surface. The PM plays a crucial role in transporting the LM from the launch vehicle injection to the final lunar orbit of 100 kilometers. After completing this task, the PM will separate from the LM. Remarkably, the propulsion module also incorporates its own scientific payload, enhancing the scientific value of the mission. This payload will be activated following the separation of the lander module.

The mission objectives of Chandrayaan-3 encompass several crucial aspects: