Chandrayaan-3 live: Indian space agency achieves historic Moon mission landing
No other country has successfully landed on the Moon’s uncharted south pole
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.India’s space agency Isro has achieved the unprecedented soft landing of a probe on the Moon’s uncharted south pole.
The mission’s Vikram lander began hurtling towards the lunar surface as planned, travelling at about 1.68km per second, and fired its engines to successfully align the probe vertically to the Moon’s surface.
The space agency‘s teams were awaiting the arrival of the mission’s Lander Module (LM) at its designated point around 5.44pm local time (1.14pm BST) to initate the landing sequence.
The live telecast of the module’s descent phase bagan at 5.20pm Indian time.
Until now, no other country has achieved a soft landing on the Moon’s south pole, which is known to contain traces of water ice in its shadowed craters.
The module then made a soft landing as planned on the lunar south pole at about 6.02pm local time (12.34pm GMT/UTC).
“India is now on the Moon,” said Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who addressed Isro staff members immediately after the landing.
Chandrayaan-3: How to watch India’s historic Moon mission to land probe on uncharted lunar south pole
Chandrayaan-3: What to expect from India’s mission to Moon’s south pole- India’s historic Chandrayaan-3 mission sends back first images of Moon ahead of landing
India's spacecraft is preparing to land on the moon in the country's second attempt in 4 years
How Nasa and ESA are helping India's Chandrayaan-3 mission
Isro is collaborating with space agencies Nasa and ESA as part of the international antenna network to continuously track Chandrayaan-3.
Tracking stations in different parts of the world are tuned in to help safely guide the mission towards the Moon.
“All systems Green at ESA for today’s Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing attempt,” the European Space Agency’s Operation Centre noted in a tweet.
ESA said it would support the lander “during the entire phase of lunar surface operations, helping to ensure that science data acquired by the rover arrives safely with Isro in India.”
Nasa’s Deep Space Network, consisting of an array of giant radio antennas across the world, has also been providing tracking coverage and telemetry assistance for the mission.
What to expect from Chandrayaan-3 mission
The main aim of Chandrayaan-3 is to put a lander and rover in the highlands near the Moon’s south pole, an uncharted lunar territory known to contain pockets of water ice.
Isro aims to make a number of scientific studies of the Moon’s south pole from the surface and from orbit as part of the latest mission.
The mission’s Vikram lander carries an instrument called Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) to measure the Moon’s surface thermal properties and an instrument for measuring lunar seismic activity (ILSA).
It also carries the Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) instrument to study the Moon’s gas and plasma environment, and a laser device for lunar ranging studies.
You can read more about the mission’s goals here.
What to expect from India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission to Moon’s south pole
Successful mission would make India only fourth country after US, Russia, and China to have landed a rover on Moon
How to watch India's Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing
The live telecast of the Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing event will begin at 5.20pm on India Standard Time (11.50am GMT/UTC) on Wednesday, the country’s space agency Isro noted.
The mission’s Vikram lander is expected to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole at about 6.04pm local time (12.34pm GMT/UTC).
“The live coverage will be available via multiple platforms, including the Isro Website, YouTube, Isro’s Facebook page,” Isro said in a statement.
If the mission’s Pragyan rover manages to find water ice on the lunar surface it could set historic precedent that may spur nations to extract fuel and oxygen from the Moon.
You can read more on this here.
How to watch historic Indian Chandrayaan-3 mission to land probe on Moon’s south pole
No country has ever managed a soft landing on the lunar south pole – yet
Challenge ahead as India attempts historic landing on Moon
No country has managed a soft landing on the Moon’s south pole until now.
During India’s previous attempt to do so in 2019, the Chandrayaan-2 mission lander diverged from its intended path and lost communication with the Indian space agency a mile-and-a-half above the Moon’s surface.
In the crucial last moments of landing, known as the “20 minutes of terror,” the mission’s lander will start hurtling towards the lunar surface at about 1.68km per second.
The lander will have to slow down by firing all its engines to align vertically to the Moon’s surface.
It was during this final phase that the Chandrayaan-2 mission tumbled and crashed onto the Moon.
Isro chairman S Somnath told local media that “all preparations” have been done for the current mission, and “all systems have performed as we needed them to until this stage”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments