'Bahubali' Rocket To Send Chandrayaan-3 To The Moon

When is Chandrayaan-3 being launched?

India is getting ready for Chandrayaan-3, our third mission to the Moon. It will launch on July 14, 2023 (tomorrow), at 2:35 pm, from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This mission follows 2019’s Chandrayaan-2. Chandrayaan-3's goal is to land safely on the Moon on August 23, according to The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

It has a huge rocket called Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (nicknamed 'Bahubali') that will take it into space. The landing spot is near the Moon's south pole. If everything goes well, Chandrayaan-3 will be the first mission to land successfully near the Moon's south pole.

What happened to Chandrayaan-2?

Chandrayaan-2 had three parts: an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. The lander, sadly, couldn't communicate with the ground stations after landing on the Moon. But don't worry, the orbiter is still working fine and helping scientists learn more about the Moon. 

That's why Chandrayaan-2 is partly successful. So, for Chandrayaan-3, they made some changes to do even better.

What changes have been made to Chandrayaan-3?

Chandrayaan-3 doesn’t have an orbiter. It only has a rover (named Pragyan) and a lander (named Vikram). ISRO designed it to handle failures. They looked at many situations where things could go wrong and made improvements. They added more solar panels and extra fuel to the lander, and they made its legs stronger too.

When Chandrayaan-3 lands, the Vikram Lander and Pragyan rover will start exploring and studying the Moon's south pole. We hope the landing goes well and that ISRO makes history. 

Why are scientists trying to study the Moon’s polar regions?

The Moon's polar regions are very rough and super cold, so nobody has properly explored them yet. But previous missions have found small particles of ice and water there!

Due to the extreme cold, things in the Moon’s polar regions stay frozen and don't change much. The rocks and soil in these places can teach us about how the Solar System used to be a long time ago.

Update:

After Chandrayaan-3’s launch, it successfully executed four orbit-raising manoeuvres. ISRO also revealed that the spacecraft’s health is normal, and it's functioning well. The fifth orbit-raising manoeuvre is scheduled for 25th July 2023.