Chandrayaan-3 success: Impact of space mission on military readiness

Future development in missile and satellite-guided weapons will be based on reusability, including the re-entry of the space-guided system into orbit.

- J.K.S. PARIHAR

India achieved the historic distinction on 23 August of being the first-ever country to land its mission on the South Pole of the moon as well as the fourth country in addition to the USA, Russia, and China to achieve a soft landing of the module of its spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon. The propulsion module, an Orbiter, carries the lander Vikram and rover Pragyaan configuration until the spacecraft is in a 100-kilometre lunar orbit.

The Lander has four throttle-able engines with thrust valve slew rate-changing capabilities. It is equipped with multiple complex software including a Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV) for securing three-dimensional measurements of altitude. The Lander is capable of precise targeting in the landing zone of 4 km. Rover Pragyaan is a six-wheeled design and is 26 kg in weight and dimensions of 917 millimeters x 750 millimeters and 397 millimeters which is capable of performing a task such as studying the composition of the lunar surface, including the presence of water as well as the evolution of the lunar surface and atmosphere within the range of 500 meters. The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) linked with the rover will evaluate chemicals and infer the mineralogical composition of the lunar surface. In addition, the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) is expected to have a thorough study of lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site.