Somnath called for industry leaders in the space sector, akin to Elon Musk, to invest in India…reports Asian Lite News
Exhorting greater private sector participation in the Indian space sector, ISRO chief S. Somnath on Wednesday said that’ just like Elon Musk in US more industry people should come and invest in it here’.
Addressing AIMA’s annual convention in the national capital, Somnath said, “We want to see more industry people in the space sector. Just like Elon Musk is there in the US, we need somebody like him to invest here. Though it’s not an easy sector and is an unforgiving domain. It requires personal passion… Failures will be there. So my advice will be to start in the applications segment, like ground equipment manufacturing.”
“Our aim is to see greater manufacturing of space equipment in India. Though several equipment are made in the country, it is the electronics domain where challenges remain, like in sourcing components for building rockets like ceramics and integrated chips. For this we need more industry support,” he noted further.
War provides thrust to India’s space sector, opens up new opportunities
Somnath informed that unlike earlier times, when space research was mainly dependent on government support, now the private sector is gradually increasing its footprint in the space sector.
“Now private companies can build and launch satellites on their own, even outside ISRO. It’s a great opportunity,” he said.
The ISRO chief further informed that through public private partnership and other modes of collaboration with the private sector, their participation is being facilitated in the space sector.
Cost effectiveness in rocket designing is being worked out so that private entities can come and design rockets, Somnath informed.
“Currently there are 53 satellites, but at least 500 are needed if we want to be globally competitive in the space sector. Before the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s launch, NASA scientists reviewed our components and were surprised by their cost effectiveness. They showed keenness in purchasing from us. Sourcing components is a major challenge for India. Work is going on to ease restrictions and make American components available to Indian companies,” he said.
AWS expands access to free computing skills training
Amazon’s Cloud subsidiary collaborates to accelerate space sector innovation….reports Asian Lite News
Amazon Web Services (AWS) India on Wednesday said it has signed a strategic MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to support space-tech innovations through cloud computing.
The collaboration, said the Amazon’s Cloud subsidiary, will give space startups, research institutes and students access to cutting edge cloud technologies that accelerate the development of new solutions in the space sector.
“We are at a pivotal time in India’s space journey as the Indian government focuses on broadening and strengthening the country’s capabilities in the aerospace and satellite industry,” said,” Shalini Kapoor, Director and Chief Technologist, Public Sector, AWS India and South Asia.
“We look forward to helping customers in India build space-tech solutions to make life on Earth better,” Kapoor added.
AWS’s educational programmes on cloud computing in combination with ISRO’s space-tech expertise will inspire future generations to pursue a career in India’s growing space sector.
“Advancing innovation in the space sector is a top priority for our nation as geospatial solutions have the power to deliver high quality services for the good governance for citizens and add value to the stakeholders,” said Sudheer Kumar N, Director, Capacity Building and Public Outreach, ISRO.
ISRO, IN-SPACe and AWS will work collaboratively to nurture and grow the startup community in the space-tech sector.
AWS will provide eligible space startups tools, resources, and expert technical support at no cost through the AWS Activate programme.
Startups will also benefit from access to AWS and its global experience of building aerospace and satellite solutions through the AWS Space Accelerator programme, said the company.
“After the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing and Aditya L-1 mission, it is time we leverage the limitless potential of space technology and cloud computing to propel India’s space sector to new heights. IN-SPACe has continuously been striving to empower and facilitate the private space sector,” said Dr Vinod Kumar, Director, Promotion Directorate, IN-SPACe.
Cloud computing enables the speedy management of large volumes of raw space data, besides running AI, ML and analytics workloads to achieve meaningful outcomes in a highly cost-effective manner.
This will be one of the longest missions for the rocket as well as for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), reports Venkatachari Jagannathan
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C57 (PSLV-C57) lifted off with the country’s Aditya-L1 spacecraft to study the Sun, on Saturday morning.
The PSLV-XL variant rocket carries the 1,480.7 kg Aditya-L1 spacecraft as its sole passenger that will study the solar activities.
The 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C57 rocket with a lift off mass of 321 ton carrying Aditya-L1 — named after the Sun God in Hindu mythology — blasted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) here at 11.50 a.m.
Slowly rising up towards the skies with a thick orange flame at its tail, the rocket gained speed with a sound resembling rolling thunder and went up and up leaving a thick plume while the people assembled at the viewing gallery clapped their hands with pride.
Interestingly, this will be one of the longest missions for the rocket as well as for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
About 63 minutes after the lift off, the rocket will eject Aditya-L1 and the whole mission comes to an end at about 73 minutes with the passivation of the fourth stage.
“We have to meet the argument of perigee of the satellite. For that we are following two burn strategies for the fourth stage. After first burn there is a long coasting to achieve the argument of perigee that occurs naturally,” Dr S. Unnikrishnan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) told IANS about the long flight duration.
The flight plan includes switching off the rocket’s fourth stage twice, allowing it to coast for about 30 minutes – 26 minutes after the first cut off and about 3 minutes after the second cut off.
Initially, Aditya-L1 will be ejected in a low earth orbit (LEO). Then the orbit will be elliptical. As the spacecraft travels towards the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point (L1), it will exit the earth’s gravitational Sphere of Influence (SOI).
After exit from SOI, the cruise phase will start and subsequently the spacecraft will be injected into a large halo orbit around the L1 — the point where the gravitational pull of two large bodies – Sun and Earth- will be equal and hence the spacecraft will not gravitate towards any one of the planet.
The total travel time from launch to L1 would take about four months for Aditya-L1 and the distance will be about 1.5 million km from the Earth.
The distance between the Earth and the Moon is about 3,84,000 km.
“A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses. This will provide a greater advantage of observing the solar activities and its effect on space weather in real time,” the ISRO said.
The scientific objectives of Aditya-L1 mission includes, study of coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), dynamics of solar atmosphere and temperature anisotropy.
In its normal configuration PSLV is a four stage/engine expendable rocket powered by solid and liquid fuels alternatively with six booster motors strapped on to the first stage to give higher thrust during the initial flight moments.
The rocket that flew on Saturday was the XL variant – with longer strap-on motors.
Interestingly, the XL variant rocket was used for the first time for India’s first interplanetary mission – the Chandrayaan-1 or Moon Mission -1. Later the rocket was used for Chandrayaan-2 and Mars Mission/Mars Orbiter Mission.
And Saturday’s PSLV-XL variant is flying for the 25th time for another interplanetary mission.
The Saturday rocketing comes soon after India landing on the Moon on August 23 with its lander safely landing on the lunar soil in a text book style. Later the rover rolled down and started doing experiments.
Be that as it may, the Indian space agency said, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle and magnetic field detectors.
“Using the special vantage point L1, four payloads directly view the Sun and the remaining three payloads carry out in-situ studies of particles and fields at the Lagrange point L1, thus providing important scientific studies of the propagatory effect of solar dynamics in the interplanetary medium,” ISRO said.
Aditya-L1’s seven payloads are expected to provide the most crucial information to understand the problem of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities and their characteristics, dynamics of space weather, propagation of particle and fields and others, the Indian space agency said.
The ISRO said the major science objectives of Aditya-L1 mission are: Study of solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics, study of chromospheric and coronal heating, physics of the partially ionised plasma, and initiation of the coronal mass ejections, and flares.
It will also observe the in-situ particle and plasma environment providing data for the study of particle dynamics from the Sun.
Other objectives are physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism, the diagnostics of the coronal and coronal loops plasma: Temperature, velocity and density, development, dynamics and origin of Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), to identify the sequence of processes that occur at multiple layers (chromosphere, base and extended corona) which eventually leads to solar eruptive events, magnetic field topology and magnetic field measurements in the solar corona, and the drivers for space weather (origin, composition and dynamics of solar wind).
ISRO said that the Sun estimated to be 4.5 billion years old is a hot glowing ball of hydrogen and helium gases and is the source of energy for the solar system.
“The gravity of the Sun holds all the objects of the solar system together. At the central region of the sun, known as ‘core’, the temperature can reach as high as 15 million degree Celsius,” it said.
At this temperature, a process called nuclear fusion takes place in the core which powers the Sun. The visible surface of the sun known as photosphere is relatively cool and has a temperature of about 5,500 degree Celsius, the ISRO said.
The Sun is the nearest star and therefore can be studied in much more detail as compared to other stars. By studying the Sun, we can learn much more about stars in our Milky Way as well as about stars in various other galaxies, the ISRO said.
The Sun is a very dynamic star that extends much beyond what we see. It shows several eruptive phenomena and releases immense amounts of energy in the solar system. If such explosive solar phenomena is directed towards the earth, it could cause various types of disturbances in the near earth space environment.
Various spacecraft and communication systems are prone to such disturbances and therefore an early warning of such events is important for taking corrective measures beforehand.
In addition to these, if an astronaut is directly exposed to such explosive phenomena, he/she would be in danger. The various thermal and magnetic phenomena on the sun are of extreme nature.
Thus, the Sun also provides a good natural laboratory to understand those phenomena which cannot be directly studied in the lab.
The Indians space agency said all the seven payloads carried by Aditya-L1 are indigenously developed by different laboratories in the country in close coordination with it.
The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) instrument is developed at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru; Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) instrument at Inter University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pune; Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad; Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) at Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram; Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) and High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) payloads at U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru and the Magnetometer at the Laboratory for Electro Optics Systems, Bengaluru.
Civil nuclear cooperation through the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu and space exploration via the Gaganyaan programme remain important components of India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,a report by Ateet Sharma
Russia has reaffirmed its readiness to further develop bilateral cooperation with India in the space sector after the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the moon’s south pole, last week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday evening to once again “warmly congratulate” him on Chandrayaan-3’s successful soft landing on Lunar surface.
Besides the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi and Russia’s BRICS chairmanship starting January 2024, the two leaders also discussed the consistent implementation of large-scale projects in the energy sector, joint work to expand the international transport and logistics infrastructure and progress of the space research programmes.
“Vladimir Putin once again warmly congratulated Narendra Modi on the successful landing of the Indian space station Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon near its south pole. Readiness was reaffirmed to further develop bilateral cooperation in the space sector,” the Kremlin said in a statement after the telephone conversation between the Russian President and PM Modi.
Civil nuclear cooperation through the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu and space exploration via the Gaganyaan programme remain important components of India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
As Moscow plays a significant role in India’s maiden human space flight mission Gaganyaan which is targeted to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024, the last few years have witnessed an increased cooperation between the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This includes the human spaceflight programmes and satellite navigation.
ISRO and Roscosmos have signed an agreement on ‘Cooperation in Space’ which targets building partnerships to exploit the full potential of India and Russia in development of launch vehicles, construction and utilisation of spacecraft for different applications, ground-based space infrastructure, as well as research and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, including planetary exploration.
Russia has contributed extensively to India’s rise as a space power since the USSR became one of the three countries that helped India in setting up the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in 1962.
The launching of the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975 and first Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma’s eight-day flight as a member of a joint Soviet-Indian Soyuz-T11 spacecraft crew in 1984 took the partnership to new heights.
In February 2020, the long India-Russia association in space grew further as four Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots began their training at Moscow’s Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) for a spaceflight under the contract between Glavkosmos, JSC (part of the State Space Corporation Roscosmos) and ISRO’s Human Spaceflight Centre.
Last December, Atomic Energy and Space minister Jitendra Singh told Parliament that the astronaut designates for human space flight mission Gaganyaan have been identified and are currently undergoing their mission specific training in Bengaluru.
Singh had also informed Rajya Sabha that India is considering proposals for collaborations and cooperation in space research with more countries “through joint experiments and creating platforms for inflow of expertise”.
The specific areas in which collaboration and cooperation could be possible in future include building of satellites, development of science instruments for earth observation, space science and planetary exploration; new propulsion technologies; sharing of satellite data; human spaceflight support, space situational awareness and training and capacity building in space technology applications.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that August 23 will be celebrated as National Space Day to mark Chandrayaan-3’s landing on the Moon.
… … and here is how the Chandrayaan-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander to the Lunar surface. pic.twitter.com/nEU8s1At0W
PM Modi also announced that the touchdown spot of the Vikram lander on the lunar surface would from now onwards be known as the ‘Shivshakti’ point while the Chandrayaan-2 Lunar landing point will be called the ‘Tiranga’ point.
“This will be an inspiration for every effort made by India. it will remind us any failure is not final…,” PM Modi said.
A visibly emotional Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed scientists at the Indian Space Research organisation’s command centre in Bengaluru, who were involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission and lauded them for their efforts.
“On August 23rd, India hoisted the flag on the Moon. From now onwards, that day will be known as National Space Day in India”, said PM Modi
“Today, I am very feeling a new kind of happiness among you,” a beaming PM added.
“Such kind of happiness… these are very rare occasions when the whole body and soul is drenched in happiness,” PM Modi said while addressing the scientists at ISRO’s Telemetry Tracking and Command Network Mission Control Complex in Bengaluru.
He said the scientists had taken the Make In India initiative to the Moon, referring to the boost to indigenous productions due to Chandrayaan 3’s success.
PM Modi said he was on a two-nation visit to South Africa and Greece but his mind was completely with the scientists.
Interacting with our @isro scientists in Bengaluru. The success of Chandrayaan-3 mission is an extraordinary moment in the history of India's space programme. https://t.co/PHUY3DQuzb
He said that he wanted to salute the scientists as soon as possible. “I could not stop myself as I was not in the country, but I decided to visit Bengaluru first and meet our scientists right after visiting India,” he said as the scientists cheered and broke into applause.
“…I can see before my eyes every second of that day of August 23…” PM Modi said recalling the final 15 challenging minutes of the Chandrayaan-3.
“I salute your dedication. I salute your patience. I salute your hard work. I salute your inspiration,” said PM Modi as he turned emotional.
The prime minister was accorded a warm reception as he arrived at the ISRO headquarters this morning. He met the team of scientists involved in the country’s third lunar mission — Chandrayaan-3 and enveloped ISRO chief Somanath in a hug.
Locals with posters and the national flag had gathered on the streets outside the airport in to welcome PM Narendra Modi. Upon landing at the HAL airport in Bengaluru, he greeted people gathered and raised the slogan ‘Jai Vigyan Jai Anusandhan’ outside the airport.
India entered record books as the first country to successfully place a lander on the unexplored lunar South Pole on Wednesday evening. (ANI)
Former deputy chief minister and BJP MLA R. Ashoka said that the roadshow will be held between Jalahalli Circle to ISRO Head Quarters in Bengaluru…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on August 26 to congratulate the scientists following the successful Chandrayan-3 mission.
BJP will also hold a mega roadshow on the occasion.
Former deputy chief minister and BJP MLA R. Ashoka said that the roadshow will be held between Jalahalli Circle to ISRO Head Quarters in Bengaluru.
“I request the people and party workers to attend the roadshow to congratulate scientists and PM Modi,” he said.
In the backdrop of the visit of PM Modi to ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRACK), BJP State President Nalin Kumar Kateel, BJP MLAs S.R. Vishwanath and S. Muniraju have visited the centre and inspected the campus.
“The invitation is open for all to make the programme successful. If people can come at 5.45 a.m. on Aug 26, they can see PM Modi and ISRO scientists,” Ashoka said.
Nalin Kumar Kateel said that PM Modi would arrive at HAL at 5 a.m and should be extended a grand welcome. The party workers and people are invited from the Bengaluru Urban District mainly, he said.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Dayanand held a meeting to discuss about security arrangements with the Additional Police Commissioners, Joint Police Commissioners and DCPs. After arriving at HAL airport, PM Modi will reach ISRO by road and it has been decided to divert the traffic in Bengaluru on the stretch of the road.
The police department has banned the movement of goods vehicles in the Bengaluru City between 4 a.m. and 11 a.m.
India became the first nation to make a successful landing on the moon’s South Poll. …reports Asian Lite News
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the scientists on successfully landing Chandrayaan-3 at the South Pole of the moon.
“Moonshots work! Congratulations to @narendramodi, @ISRO, and the Indian scientists for the first successful landing at the South Pole of the Moon,” Gates posted on X (formerly Twitter).
India became the first nation to make a successful landing on the moon’s South Poll.
Along with Gates, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella also congratulated ISRO on successfully landing the spacecraft, describing it as an exciting moment for India and the future of space exploration.
“My congratulations to @isro on the moon landing of the Chandrayaan-3. What an exciting moment for India – and the future of space exploration,” Nadella said.
With this landing in its second attempt in four years, India became the fourth country after the US, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union to master soft-landing on the lunar surface.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Thursday praised India for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, describing it as “super cool.”
“Super cool!,” Musk said, reacting to the successful launch.
Also, he congratulated the country for the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon.
“Congratulations India,” he commented on one of ISRO’s posts.
Even before the successful landing, Musk had shown support for India’s Moon mission by saying “Good for India.”
Elon Musk.(photo:IANS/Twitter)
The world hailed the historic soft-landing of the Indian spacecraft on the Moon’s south pole surface on Wednesday.
Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai also congratulated the Indian space agency and the country for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon.
“What an incredible moment! Congratulations to @isro for the successful landing of #Chandrayaan3 on the moon,” Pichai said in a post on X.
“Today India became the first country to successfully achieve a soft landing on the southern polar region of the moon,” he added.
With this historic feat, India became the first nation to make a successful landing on the Moon’s south pole.
After landing successfully, ISRO had posted on X: “Chandrayaan-3 Mission: ‘India, I reached my destination and you too!’ :Chandrayaan-3.”
The lander landed after travelling about 3.84 lakh km for over 40 days.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft comprises a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), a lander (1,723.89 kg) and a rover (26 kg).
The 19 minutes of suspense and excitement began at 5.45 p.m. on Wednesday, as planned earlier, and ended at 6.05 p.m. with the lander touching down on the lunar soil.
Bengaluru, Aug 23 (ANI): Former ISRO chief, K Sivan and scientists watch the live telecast of the Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram's soft-landing on the Moon's South Pole during Chandrayaan-3 Mission, at Mission Control Complex in Bengaluru on Wednesday. (ANI Photo)
K. Sivan was the chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the time of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, launched in 2019….reports Asian Lite News
As Chandrayaan-3 achieved a soft landing on the South Pole of the moon, making India the first country to reach that particular area, former ISRO chief K Sivan on Wednesday said that it is sweet news, for which they have been waiting for the last four years.
“We are really excited to see this grand success. For this, we have been waiting for the last four years. This success is sweet news for us and for the entire nation,” K Sivan said.
Sivan was the chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the time of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, launched in 2019.
The country’s second lunar mission was only “partially successful” since the lander lost contact, in the last moments when a distance of 2.1 km was left, and made a hard landing on the surface of the moon. Following this, the then ISRO chief Sivan broke into tears.
Meanwhile, as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module Vikram made a safe and soft landing on the Moon, the ISRO chief S Somanath said, “India is on the Moon”.
Responding to Chandrayaan-3’s success, Sivan said that the Central government is also with us and they also will be happy to see this happy moment.
On the world, closely watching this mission, he said, “Chandrayaan-3’s science data is not only for India, it is for the global scientists.”
“The scientists will use this data globally to discover new things from it,” he added.
Meanwhile, former Professor of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) RC Kapoor, said, “This is the best moment of my life and we can’t express our excitement as it landed. This is the moment to congratulate ISRO, the whole nation and the entire world…”
He said that this opens the floodgates to research and increase activity in the Southern part of the moon.
“India is now one of the four topmost space agencies of the world,” the astronomer added.
Officials at India’s space agency ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru broke into applause after the Vikram began its powered vertical descent towards its landing site.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is attending the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg watched the live telecast and as soon as the touchdown happened he sported a big smile and waved the tricolour.
The countdown of the Vikram hovered at 150 metres, then 130 metres, and 50 metres and decelerated as approached the moon’s service before finally touching down on the lunar surface.
As the Vikram lander carrying the Pragyaan rover in its belly touched down on the lunar surface, it marked a giant leap in India’s spacefaring journey providing a well-deserved finale to ISRO’s long years of toil.
This makes India the fourth country – after the US, China, and Russia – to have successfully landed on the moon’s surface, it has earned a place in record books as the first to touchdown on the south side of Earth’s only natural satellite.
Billions of people across India and globally closely monitoring the much-awaited event. More so after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed on Sunday after spinning out of control.
In the run-up to the scheduled soft landing of Chandrayaan-3, people across the country prayed to God in all denominations of places of worship for a successful mission.
Special screenings of the soft landing were organized across the country, including schools and science centers, and public institutions. ISRO made the live actions available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV.
The scheduled timing for the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023 (Wednesday), was 18:04 IST, with the powered descent of Vikram lander at 1745 IST.
ISRO had been releasing a series of up-close images of the moon, assisting the lander module in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard moon reference map.
Historically, spacecraft missions to the Moon have primarily targeted the equatorial region due to its favourable terrain and operating conditions. However, the lunar south pole presents a vastly different and more challenging terrain compared to the equatorial region.
The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on July 14.
A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then it was through a series of orbital manoeuvres been lowered closer to the moon’s surface. (ANI)
That’s the great word of comfort that we are receiving for pursuing the inspirational work that we are doing for the nation,” Somanath said addressing the ISRO team at the Mission Operations Complex…reports Asian Lite News
“We have achieved a soft landing on the Moon. India is on the Moon,” said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief S. Somanath on Wednesday, August 23, after Chandrayaan-3 landed successfully on the lunar surface.
“The Honourable PM called me and conveyed his greetings to each one of you and your family for the wonderful work you did in ISRO. Thanks to him for the support he is giving to us for missions like Chandrayaan-3 and missions that are in the offing.
That’s the great word of comfort that we are receiving for pursuing the inspirational work that we are doing for the nation,” Somanath said addressing the ISRO team at the Mission Operations Complex.
Somanath also acknowledged the contribution of a generation of leadership and scientists of the country’s space agency for the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s success, and said the achievement is an “incremental progress” and “a huge one”.
He thanked all those who prayed for the mission’s success, and ISRO veterans like A S Kiran Kumar, the space agency’s former chief. “They have been helping so much, they were part of the team to help them to get the confidence and get the reviews done, and to ensure that nothing goes with any mistakes,” he added.
India’s Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm today, launching the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.
With this touchdown on the Moon in the second attempt in four years, India has become the fourth country to master the technology of soft landing on the lunar surface after the US, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union.
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 and its objectives are to demonstrate safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
Chandrayaan-2 had failed in its lunar phase when its lander, Vikram, crashed into the surface of the Moon minutes before the touchdown following anomalies in the braking system in the lander while attempting a landing on September 7, 2019. Chandrayaan’s maiden mission was in 2008.
The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near the lunar south pole. The soft-landing took place days after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control.
“India is on the moon!” Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is currently attending the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg said
It was a giant leap for India on Wednesday evening as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon’s South Pole, making it the first country to have achieved the historic feat and bringing to an end the disappointment over the crash landing of the Chandrayaan-2, four years ago.
Officials at India’s space agency ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru broke into applause after the Vikram began its powered vertical descent towards its landing site.
“India is on the moon!” Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is currently attending the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg said. He watched the live telecast and as soon as the touchdown happened he sported a big smile and waved the tricolour.
The countdown of the Vikram hovered at 150 metres, then 130 metres, 50 metres and decelerated as approached the moon’s service before finally touching down on the lunar surface.
As the Vikram lander carrying the Pragyaan rover in its belly touched down on the lunar surface, it marked a giant leap in India’s spacefaring journey providing a well-deserved finale to ISRO’s long years of toil.
This makes India becomes the fourth country – after US, China, and Russia – to have successfully landed on the moon’s surface, it has earned a place in record books as the first to touchdown on the south side of Earth’s only natural satellite.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission: 'India🇮🇳, I reached my destination and you too!' : Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon 🌖!.
Billions of people across India and globally closely monitoring the much-awaited event. More so after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed on Sunday after spinning out of control.
In the run-up to the scheduled soft landing of Chandrayaan-3, people across the country prayed to God in all denominations of places of worship for a successful mission.
Special screenings of the soft landing were organized across the country, including schools and science centers, and public institutions. ISRO made the live actions available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV.
The scheduled timing for the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023 (Wednesday), was 18:04 IST, with the powered descent of Vikram lander at 1745 IST.
ISRO had been releasing a series of up-close images of the moon, assisting the lander module in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard moon reference map.
Historically, spacecraft missions to the Moon have primarily targeted the equatorial region due to its favourable terrain and operating conditions. However, the lunar south pole presents a vastly different and more challenging terrain compared to the equatorial region.
Historic day for India's space sector. Congratulations to @isro for the remarkable success of Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission. https://t.co/F1UrgJklfp
The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on July 14.
A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then it was through a series of orbital manoeuvres been lowered closer to the moon’s surface.
Ever since the July 14 launch, ISRO had been maintaining that the health of the spacecraft remained “normal”.
On August 5, Chandrayaan-3 was successfully inserted into the lunar orbit with multiple key manoeuvres thereafter.
Then on August 17, the mission marked another giant leap in its lunar quest as the ‘Vikram’ lander module of the spacecraft successfully separated from the propulsion module on Thursday. The Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander is named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919–1971), who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme.
Then the deboosting of the Lander module was undertaken in two phases. Deboosting is the process of slowing down to position itself in an orbit where the orbit’s closest point to the Moon is.
The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, were safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, the rover moving on the moon’s surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.
Upon landing, the lander and the rover were to operate for one lunar day. One day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth.
Chandrayaan-3’s development phase commenced in January 2020, with the launch planned sometime in 2021.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission’s progress. The approved cost of Chandrayaan-3 is Rs 250 crores (excluding launch vehicle cost).
Chandrayaan-2 mission was only “partially successful” since the lander lost contact after a hard landing, but the ISRO earlier this week successfully established two-way communication between the Chandrayaan-3 lander module and the still orbiting Chandrayaan-2 orbiter.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) founder Vikram Sarabhai, who is considered the father of the Indian space program, once said India must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems facing society.
The establishment of the ISRO was one of Vikram Sarabhai’s greatest achievements. He successfully convinced the government of the day of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India. (ANI)
