ISRO'S LVM-3 LAUNCHES CHANDRAYAAN-3

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) used its heavy-lift LVM-3 rocket (earlier known as the GSLV Mark-3) for launching India’s second lander mission to the moon- Chandrayaan-3 on July 14. The spacecraft is now on its journey to the moon and its soft touchdown is scheduled at 5:47PM IST (Indian Standard Time) on August 23.

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The spacecraft’s configurations 

Chandrayaan-3 consists of lander and rover configuration. The propulsion module will carry the lander and rover configuration till 100 km lunar orbit. The propulsion module has Spectropolarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload to study the spectral and Polari metric measurements of earth from the lunar orbit.

Lander payloads: Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) to measure the thermal conductivity and temperature; Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) for measuring the seismicity around the landing site; Langmuir Probe (LP) to estimate the plasma density and its variations. A passive Laser Retroreflector Array from NASA is accommodated for lunar laser ranging studies.

Rover payloads: Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) for deriving the elemental composition in the vicinity of landing site.

Significance of the mission