Category Archives: Chandrayaan-3

Tuesday / 26 March 2024

Posted on by

Chandrayaan-3 Landing Site Now Officially Designated Statio Shiv Shakti by International Astronomical Union

IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature on 19 March declares area around Vikram lander between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters (-69.37°, 32.32°) Statio Shiv Shakti (Shiva Shakti Station) after Hindu deities which symbolize masculine and feminine energies in recognition of 4th national soft-landing on Moon; Chandrayaan-1 probe impact site ‘Jawahar Point’ and Chandrayaan-2 crash site ‘Tiranga’ have also been submitted to IAU; Shiva and Shakti are also invoked by Max Planck Institute astronomers for metal-poor 12-13 billion year old stellar streams thought to be proto-galactic fragments observed by Gaia Space Observatory and Sloan Digital Sky Survey; Rubin crater between Amundsen and Demonax B crater (-82.82°, 77.65°) was also named on 19 March after the American astronomer Vera Rubin

Credits: Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, USGS, IAU

Friday / 8 Dec 2023

Posted on by

India On Track to Achieve 3-Phase 2047 Space / Moon Exploration Plan

New strategy for India to achieve leading global space power status by 2047 revealed at ISG-ISRS National Symposium in Pune is divided into Technology Build Up (2023-28), Lunar Reach-out (2028-40) and Lunar Base (2040-47) phases; Space Docking Experiment (SPADEX) set for 2024, followed by continuation of Chandrayaan mission series of robotic landers with Chandrayaan-4,5,6,7; ISRO Chairman S. Somanath confident in meeting 2035 space station and 2040 human Moon landing goals set by PM Modi, telling TOI work “is progressing aggressively” on station and first module may be launched in 2028; Lunar habitation / tourism possible by 2047

Credits: NDTV, ISRO

Tuesday / 10 Oct 2023

Posted on by

ISRO Working Towards Lunar and Human Spaceflight Goals as Chandrayaan-3 Data Undergoing Analysis

As hope for Vikram lander / Pragyan rover reactivation diminishes, India is moving forward with ambitious space plans as outlined by Chandrayaan-3 Project Director P Veeramuthuvel (T) and Satish Dhawan Space Centre Deputy Director T S Raghuram at International Space Week events in Rajahmundry and Chennai; Space tourism and human Moon landings are on the horizon, with Veeramuthuvel stating ‘ISRO wants to send humans there [Moon]’, while both officials promoted space tourism, with Gaganyaan Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) slated for 25 Oct (IST)

Credits: ISRO, Roscosmos

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 22-25 Sep 2023

Posted on by

India and World Eagerly Await Chandrayaan-3 Reactivation, ISRO Leader Aiming at Human Moon Landing

Controllers at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command center in Bengaluru working to reestablish communication with Vikram Lander (with ~ 90-kg fuel remaining) and Pragyan Rover at now-illuminated Shiv Shakti Point (69.373°S, 32.319°E) on Moon following failed attempts; ISRO Chairman Sreedhara Somanath tells local media mission has given India ‘great confidence’ to pursue even more ambitious goals such as lunar sample return and merging Gaganyaan human spaceflight program with Chandrayaan lunar series, stating ‘an Indian will definitely land on the Moon’; Director of Space Applications Center Nilesh Desai anticipates 23 Sep awakening

Credits: ISRO, ISRS

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 15-18 Sep 2023

Posted on by

Lunar Mission Cadence Not Letting Up with Japan on Route to Moon, USA CLPS Preparing for Launch

ISRO awaits possible reactivation of Vikram Lander / Pragyan rover 22 September; JAXA SLIM operating nominally following post-launch systems checks with trajectory to Moon within precise range, allowing controllers to forego a planned fine-tuning maneuver; NASA CLPS providers Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic enlarging their Earth-bound organizational footprints with expanded facilities while working towards NET 16 November and TBD launches; CNSA Chang’E-6 sample retrieval sites within Apollo-crater being considered for NET May 2024; ispace and SpaceIL working towards realization HAKUTO-R mission 2 and Beresheet 2

Credits: ISRO, JAXA, Intuitive Machines, Astrobotic, ispace, SpaceIL

Tuesday / 12 Sep 2023

Posted on by

India Planning Next Lunar Missions as Chandrayaan-3 Data Being Analyzed

As ISRO awaits the possible reactivation of Chandryaaan-3 Vikram lander and /or Pragyan rover, scientists are just beginning the task of working with data delivered over the course of the 14-Earth day nominal mission including first in-situ evidence of sulphur observed by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) and Alpha Particle X-ray Spectroscope (APXS), first recorded Moonquake since Apollo with Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) and findings of sparse ionosphere of 5,000,000 – 30,000,000 electrons per meter2; ISRO expected to collaborate with JAXA on LUPEX polar mission NET 2025, and may announce Chandrayaan-4, Chandrayaan-5 timelines soon per Chandrayaan-1 mission director Mylswamy Annadurai

Credits: ISRO, Twitter / @EarthTathya

Tuesday / 29 Aug 2023

Posted on by

BRICS Nations Consider Establishment of Space Exploration Consortium

5-member BRICS economic bloc consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (with Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE set to formally join 1 Jan 2024) may cooperate on space development per comments given by India PM and Foreign Secretary in the wake of the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 at Shiv Shakti, ~20° from the lunar south pole; Existing BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation could serve as ‘base layer’ from which consortium may grow per Secretary Kwatra; Collaboration between China-led ILRS and Artemis Accords signatory India may accelerate USA Moon action

Pictured: India Prime Minister Narendra Modi (T), India Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra (B); Credits: ILOA, Twitter / @ani_digital, India Ministry of External Affairs

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 25-28 August 2023

Posted on by

India Exploring Area Near Moon South Pole with Chandrayaan-3

ISRO now conducting the farthest expedition into the lunar south ever, with landing site 69.374454°S, 32.318695°E ~625km from the southernmost point on the Moon (90°S on Shackleton crater rim); Lander Module Vikram and Pragyan rover operating nominally with ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE instruments activated and ready to take seismic, ionic and thermal readings; APXS and LIBS will perform X-ray and laser spectroscopy to determine chemical, mineralogical and elemental composition of regolith from Pragyan, now rolled out and >8 meters from LM

Tuesday / 22 Aug 2023

Posted on by

ISRO Making Final Checks While Awaiting Lunar Daybreak at Chandrayaan-3 Landing Site

Chandryaan-3 Vikram lunar lander in elliptical 25 x 134 km lunar orbit as ISRO operators at Mission Operations Complex in Bengaluru ensuring craft readiness ahead of powered descent to Moon surface ~20° from MSP set to begin 23 Aug 12:15 UTC, with touchdown on lunar surface now scheduled ~19 minutes later at 12:34 UTC; Landing to be supported by NASA and ESA Deep Space Network antennas in Canberra and Madrid with backup relay via Chandrayaan-2 orbiter; ISRO encourages schools to observe historic moment which will ‘fuel curiosity’ and ‘spark passion for exploration’; Live coverage starts 11:50 UTC

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 18-21 August 2023

Posted on by

As Luna-25 and Chandrayaan-3 Position for Moon South Pole Region Landings, Will USA Accelerate Moon Return?

India Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module in 113 x 157 km lunar orbit as ISRO controllers prepare for final deorbiting burn on 19 Aug, 20:30 UTC ahead of planned 23 Aug 12:17 UTC landing, while Propulsion Module performing spectroscopic observation of Earth from Moon orbit; Russia Luna-25 in 100-km lunar orbit following 243 and 76-sec maneuvers on route and a 40-sec orbital correction with landing NET 21 Aug planned; USA commercial lunar landers working under NASA CLPS contracts may launch soon; Intuitive Machines targeting 15 Nov launch of Nova-C / IM-1 mission, followed by IM-2 and IM-3 asap; Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One may still launch in 2023