There are several crucial moments during the lengthy voyage of a spacecraft to another celestial body. The final landing is the most thrilling. Everything hinges on the final minutes. The spacecraft must navigate a complex gravity dance, orbit, and then land securely. People who work in the space industry call it “seven minutes of terror.” This is the time when the spaceship is on its own, and the engineers and scientists can only watch. The Indian space agency faced it in 2019 during Chandrayaan-3.
Breaking Down Chandrayaan-3: Vikram’s Landing
Chandrayaan 3 is poised to make history on August 23, during the final 18 minutes of its journey, with a series of painstakingly timed moves.
Imagine Chandrayaan-3 as a daring space explorer, positioned a great distance away from its intended landing site on the moon. This will help you comprehend this critical step better. It moves at a stunning pace, like a bullet train might.
Chandrayaan 3’s Vikram Lander orbits the Moon at 1.6 km/s, 745.5 km from the landing site.
Chandrayaan 3’s engines will ignite in 690 seconds, gradually easing it towards the moon like bicycle brakes. Vikram Lander will descend at 60 metres per second due to the moon’s gravity after a quarter-speed slowdown.
The interesting element is that Chandrayaan-3 turns slightly like a bicycle while slowing down. This elegant turn aligns Chandrayaan-3 with the landing area.
At the conclusion of this procedure, it will be around 7.5 kilometres above the surface of the moon and just 32 kilometres away from the location where it is intended to touch down. Make sure the landing place is safe now.
Isro has improved the process by making it faster and more accurate. All of Vikram Lander’s sensors will be calibrated during this phase to prepare for the big moment.
Remember the Chandrayaan-2 challenge?
This Chandrayaan-3 is smarter. The 2019 issue with cameras guiding the spaceship has been shortened to 10 seconds, and the onboard error control system will continuously monitor everything.
The moon’s terrain will be evaluated and confirmed for landing during this phase. With increased technology, this phase will be faster and more effective. Then Vikram Lander enters the fine-braking phase. Imagine it as the last check before something great happens.
Vikram Lander will become vertical at 800-1300 metres above the landing site during this phase. The onboard computer will analyse data, cameras will take photos, and sensors will collect data. This is where important decisions are made, like the final touches before history is formed.
After hovering for 12 seconds, altitude drops to 150 metres. A unique camera will detect ground issues. If something seems wrong, Vikram Lander will travel 150 metres and try again.
If all goes well, the onboard computer will commit to the final drop. Vikram Lander will run 150 metres in 73 seconds, making that moment memorable.
Finally, Vikram Lander will land on the moon. The onboard computer will wake up systems from landing sensors. The Lander will start up, and Pragyan’s ramp will unroll.
Pragyan will roll onto the moon like a small explorer. And will leave eternal footprints on the moon with Isro’s brand and India’s insignia.
Throughout the process, Vikram and Pragyan will take photos. A customised communication network using the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, propulsion module, and Isro’s Deep Space Network antennas will return these photographs to Earth.
Read More: How And Why Russia’s Luna-25 Rocket Crashed Into The Moon
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