Bengaluru (Karnataka): Building upon the success and learnings from Chandrayaan-1 and 2, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its third planned lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-3 today at 2:35 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Well-known space analyst Girish Linganna opined that the outcomes from Chandrayaan-3 would be helpful for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an independent agency of the United States government.
"Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up mission of Chandrayaan-1 and 2. Through Chandrayaan-1 launched in 2008, we found that there is a significant amount of water in the south region of the moon," said Girish Linganna.
According to the space analyst Chandrayaan-2 launched in 2019 was also a success. "We fell short of just 2 km from reaching the Moon's surface. ISRO expected the lander to have a soft landing on the south pole of the moon's surface, 70-degree latitude towards the Moon," he added.
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"Chandrayaan-3 will not have an orbiter as the orbiter used in Chandrayaan-2 is still functioning and giving us all the information of the moon as of today through its powerful cameras", he said, adding that the cost of Chandrayaan-3 is 615 crore.
The propulsion module of today's mission will carry the lander and rover configuration to a 100 km lunar orbit. The landing chosen for Chandrayaan-3 is the south pole of the moon.
"NASA is also expecting a lot from the outcomes that we will receive from Chandrayaan-3. They will plan accordingly for their Human Mission launch of 2024. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between India and the United States for sharing of information," said Linganna.
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