Mumbai, July 14: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history after it successfully launched Chandrayaan-3, India’s third mission to the moon today, July 14. The Indian space agency was successful in launching the Chandrayaan-3 mission at its designated time of 2.35 pm. ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota after starting the countdown at around 1.05 pm on Thursday, July 13.

While ISRO has successfully managed to launch the Chandrayaan-3 mission, the main aim of the large-scale operation by the Indian space agency is to deploy the lander and rover in the highlands close to the Moon's South Pole. If successful, ISRO's moon mission will showcase Chandrayaan-3's end-to-end landing and roaming capabilities. The lander has been named 'Vikram' while the rover is known as Pragyaan. Chandrayaan-3 Launch Today: As ISRO Aims for Perfect Soft Landing on Lunar Surface, Know Time, Live Streaming and Other Details About India’s Third Moon Mission.

India's Third Mission to the Moon Launched by ISRO

Features of Chandrayaan-3

As per ISRO, the lander and rover of the Chandrayaan-3 mission are expected to make descent on the Moon on August 23 or 24 respectively. It must be noted that ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission which has been launched today, July 14, will enter the lunar orbit roughly about a month after its launch. This means the Chandrayaan-3 mission is likely to enter the lunar orbit around August 13. It must be noted that Chandrayaan-3 is ISRO's successor mission to Chandrayaan-2.

If all goes as per plan then Chandrayaan-3 will be the very first mission to soft-land close to the lunar south pole on the moon. S Somanath, director of ISRO said that the space agency's top priority is the safe and gentle landing of Chandrayaan-3 mission. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was successfully carried by India's heavy-lift rocket, the 642-ton Launch Vehicle Mark-III or LVM3 launcher. Chandrayaan-3 Launch Update: Countdown for India’s Third Moon Mission Progressing Smoothly, Says ISRO Official.

Chandrayaan 3 - A Successor of Chandrayaan-2 Mission

The July 14 moon mission is ISRO's follow-up to the failed Chandrayaan-2 mission of 2019 when the lander named Vikram crashed onto the moon's surface. The Chandrayaan-2 mission was launched in September 2019, however, after its launch the mission crashed on the moon’s surface when the soft-landing attempt failed due to issues with the onboard computer and propulsion system.

The space agency also said that they opted for a "failure-based design" of Chandrayaan-3 which will ensure a successful landing on the moon even if some things go wrong.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 14, 2023 02:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).