๐ Topic 02 of 6 ยท Chapter 01 ยท Space Technology & ISRO
Chandrayaan Missions โ 1, 2, 3
Chandrayaan-1 water discovery, Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 south pole landing โ complete notes for UPSC & PSC exams.
๐ Chandrayaan Missions โ Overview
| Mission | Launch Date | Key Achievement | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chandrayaan-1 | October 22, 2008 | Discovered water molecules on Moon’s surface; Moon Impact Probe (MIP) | Successful; operated for 312 days |
| Chandrayaan-2 | July 22, 2019 | Orbiter successful; Vikram lander crash-landed; Pragyan rover | Partial success; orbiter still operational |
| Chandrayaan-3 | July 14, 2023 | Successfully landed on Moon’s south pole (August 23, 2023); Vikram lander + Pragyan rover | Successful; India = 4th country to land on Moon; 1st near south pole |
๐ Chandrayaan-1 (2008)
- India’s first lunar mission; launched by PSLV-C11
- Orbited Moon at 100 km altitude for 312 days
- Major discovery: Confirmed presence of water molecules (HโO) on Moon’s surface โ a landmark discovery
- Moon Impact Probe (MIP) โ deliberately crashed on Moon’s south pole on November 14, 2008 โ carried Indian flag to Moon
- Carried 11 scientific instruments (5 Indian, 6 international โ NASA, ESA, Bulgaria)
- Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) from NASA confirmed water discovery
- Mission ended prematurely in August 2009 due to communication loss
๐ Chandrayaan-2 (2019)
- Launched July 22, 2019 by GSLV Mk III (LVM3)
- Consisted of: Orbiter + Vikram lander + Pragyan rover
- Orbiter: Successfully entered lunar orbit; still operational; 8 scientific instruments
- Vikram lander: Attempted soft landing on September 7, 2019 but crash-landed due to last-minute software glitch
- Pragyan rover: Could not deploy as lander crashed
- Despite lander failure, orbiter continues to send valuable data
- Lessons from Chandrayaan-2 helped Chandrayaan-3 succeed
๐ Chandrayaan-3 (2023) โ Historic Success
- Launched July 14, 2023 by LVM3-M4
- Successfully soft-landed on Moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023 at 6:04 PM IST
- Landing site named “Shiv Shakti Point” by PM Modi
- India became the 4th country to soft-land on Moon (after USA, USSR, China)
- India became the 1st country to land near Moon’s south pole
- August 23 declared as National Space Day
- Vikram lander: Carried 4 scientific instruments; operated for 14 Earth days (1 lunar day)
- Pragyan rover: Confirmed presence of sulphur on Moon’s south pole; travelled 100+ metres
- Chandrayaan-2 orbiter crash site named “Tiranga Point”
โญ Why Moon’s South Pole?
โข Moon’s south pole has permanently shadowed craters that may contain water ice
โข Water ice can be used for drinking, oxygen production, and rocket fuel for future missions
โข South pole has continuous sunlight on crater rims โ ideal for solar power
โข No country had successfully landed near the south pole before Chandrayaan-3
โข Russia’s Luna-25 attempted south pole landing but crashed 2 days before Chandrayaan-3’s success
โข Moon’s south pole has permanently shadowed craters that may contain water ice
โข Water ice can be used for drinking, oxygen production, and rocket fuel for future missions
โข South pole has continuous sunlight on crater rims โ ideal for solar power
โข No country had successfully landed near the south pole before Chandrayaan-3
โข Russia’s Luna-25 attempted south pole landing but crashed 2 days before Chandrayaan-3’s success