Chandrayaan-3 set for lift off on July 14: What's new to the moon mission?

India is set to launch a third mission to the moon on Friday, July 14 at 2.35 pm. Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up to the Chandrayaan-2 mission to soft land on the lunar surface of the moon and explore it with a rover. In 2019, the Chandrayaan-2 mission failed to land softly and crashed. 

This time around, scientists at ISRO have learnt from the failures of the last mission to improve upon the design of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. 

ISRO's objectives of going to the moon remain the same. During the Chandrayaan-2 mission, ISRO had said that Moon is a promising test bed for other deep-space missions. 

So, what's new to the Chandrayaan-3 mission?

• The landing site has been slightly moved from its previous location, but remains near the South Pole of the moon, with some craters in shadow.  
• This site was chosen after the 2008 Chandrayaan-1 mission found the presence of water molecules on the moon. This put India on the map of the space race. 
• The craters that remain permanently in the shade are more likely to be a storehouse of water, ice, and other precious minerals. 
• The change to the landing site was made following the pictures captured by the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter that gave a clear map of the moon. 
• These images have also been fed into the Chandrayaan-3 mission, though it won't have an orbiter. 

• The payload of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is slightly more than the previous one, with the lander weighing the most. 
• The middle thruster of the lander has been removed; reducing the number from five to four after the last mission found that the higher thrust resulted in the crash. 
• Moreover, the legs of the lander have been built to be even more studier to withstand a higher velocity. 
• The lander has been provided with more fuel to ensure it is able to travel longer distances, while the landing area has also been expanded.

When will the mission reach the moon?

• The entire process is expected to take 42 days.
• The landing is scheduled for August 23 at lunar dawn.
• The lander and the rover have to land at dawn as they cannot survive the extreme drop in temperatures during lunar nights. 
• Lunar days and nights last for 14 Earth days. 

If India is able to make a successful soft landing, it would become the fourth country to do so after the US, Russia, and China. Israel, Japan and the UAE have all failed to land softly on the moon. 

The Chandrayaan-3 mission will be launched from Sriharikota. A launch rehearsal was successfully concluded. The entire budget for the mission has been Rs 615 crore. 

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