India's Chandrayaan-3 is preparing to make history by attempting a soft landing of the Vikram Lander with the Pragyaan rover at the moon's south pole.
India's Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, 2023, around 06:04 Hrs. IST
The final twenty minutes of Chandrayaan-3's journey are dubbed "twenty minutes of terror," akin to the intense moments of a T-20 cricket match.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched by ISRO's Bahubali rocket, entering the moon's orbit after multiple elliptic circles around the Earth to gain velocity.
The spacecraft underwent a meticulous journey to enter the moon's orbit and stabilize, with a crucial separation of the propulsion module and Vikram lander on August 17.
Image source - Twitter
The Vikram lander initiates a powered descent from an altitude of 25 km, hurtling toward the moon's surface at a velocity of 1.68 km per second.
Image source - Twitter
The lander's velocity is slowed during the rough braking phase, lasting around 11 minutes, followed by the fine braking phase to position it vertically.
Image source - Isro
At 800 meters above the moon's surface, the lander hovers, eventually touching down at 150 meters with two engines firing and specialized legs designed to absorb impact.
Image source - Twitter
With both the lander and rover solar-powered, they are equipped for a lunar day of 14 Earth days, paving the way for significant scientific exploration.
Image source - Twitter
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