Chandrayaan-3: All’s well, we’re confident, says Isro chief Somanath

BENGALURU: Amid nervous excitement that grips Isro teams at control rooms with engineers and scientists double-checking every detail of the mission plan and verifying calculations, Isro Chairman S Somanath exuded confidence of a successful soft-landing on August 23.

Also See: Chandrayaan 3 Live Updates

Taking time out ahead of the crucial landing day, Somanath told TOI that the confidence stems from all the preparations ahead of the launch and the hitch-free progress made by the integrated module and the landing module in their journey to Moon.

“We are confident as everything has been all fine so far and there have been no contingencies faced until this juncture. We’ve done all the preparations and all systems have performed as we needed them to until this stage. Now, we are preparing for the landing with multiple simulations, verification and double verification of systems, checking of instruments’ health is being done today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday),” Somanath told TOI.




That Isro’s landing comes close on the heels of Russia losing Luna-25 and in the backdrop of its own attempt not succeeding the previous time adds to the tension, even as the world will be closely watching Vikram. After all, between 2019 and 2023, three of the four Moon landing missions have failed. Barring China’s Chang'e 5, all others — Israel’s Beresheet, Japan’s Hakuto-R, India’s Chandrayaan-2 and now Russia’s Luna-25 attempted in this time period — failed to land.

Vikram Linked With CH-2 Orbiter
He also confirmed that the crucial linking of the landing module with the orbiter of Chandrayaan-2 — which has been orbiting Moon since 2019 — has been completed. “The testing and verification for connecting the lander with the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is complete,” he said.

Isro later elaborated that this has established a two-way communication between the lander and Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, allowing the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at the Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) in Bengaluru “more routes to reach the landing module”.

Chandrayaan-3 consists of a lander, which will have the rover in its belly until the latter rolls out on the lunar surface post landing and a propulsion module. Here’s how they are to communicate: The propulsion module communicates only with IDSN (Indian Deep Space Network), the lander communicates with IDSN, the rover and with Chandrayaan-2 orbiter also linked with the lander for communication. The rover is designed only to communicate with the lander.


Far Side Of Moon
Meanwhile, Isro also released four pictures of the far side of Moon — the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth — a day after Vikram entered the pre-landing orbit of 25km x 134km, from where landing will be attempted Wednesday.

“The Lunar far side area was captured by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC). This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area — without boulders or deep trenches — during the descent is developed by Satellite Application Centre (SAC),” Isro said.

All four photos shared by Isro were taken on August 19, a day before Vikram entered the pre-landing orbit.

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