Chandrayaan mission a key milestone in ISRO’s journey: Kasturirangan

Chandrayaan mission a key milestone in ISRO’s journey: Kasturirangan

Context 

Veteran space scientist K. Kasturirangan said on Thursday that the Chandrayaan-3 mission has strengthened India’s credentials to take part in such far-reaching expeditions and increased the possibility of using the moon as a launch pad for future planetary missions.

  • Chandrayaan-3’s Success and Future Potential: 
      • By using the Moon as a launch platform, the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s success has opened up exciting possibilities for future planetary expeditions.
      • This accomplishment highlights India’s expanding space exploration capabilities and strengthens its qualifications to take part in increasingly complex and far-reaching projects.
  • Maneuvering and soft Landing:
      • Chandrayaan-3’s ability to soft-land on the Moon’s surface and then manoeuvre afterwards is one of the mission’s major accomplishments.
      • It takes careful supervision and coordination to accomplish a safe landing without harming the spacecraft or its scientific instruments, making soft landing a significant technological achievement.
  • Total ISRO Capability:
      •  Chandrayaan-3’s successful soft-landing and post-landing manoeuvres highlight ISRO’s all-inclusive space technology and exploration capabilities.
      • These accomplishments demonstrate ISRO’s proficiency in planning, developing, and carrying out difficult missions involving lunar exploration and beyond.
  • Landing Outside Earth and Solar System:
      • The Chandrayaan-3 mission represents a crucial turning point for ISRO and space research as a whole. It highlights the feasibility of spacecraft landing on an extraterrestrial body.
      • This accomplishment shows how far the ISRO has come in planetary exploration and how open it is to undertaking missions that go beyond Earth.
  • Exploring the Moon’s South Pole:
      • There is significant scientific value to landing close to the Moon’s South Pole.
      • Due to its unusual lighting, the area—which receives little sunlight—is an intriguing place to investigate.
      • The South Pole region is a “pristine” location that maintains geological and historical information about the Moon’s past since the Moon’s geological evolution has been greatly slowed down over billions of years.
  • Keeping Ancient History Alive:
      • The South Pole region offers a window into the Moon’s past across billions of years because of its sparse exposure to radiation and absence of substantial geological changes.
      • To gain a better understanding of the Moon’s early environment and evolution, scientists can investigate the region’s geological characteristics, minerals, and processes.
  • Significance for Future Missions:
    • Chandrayaan-3’s accomplishments set the stage for future space exploration missions that are more ambitious in scope.
    • India has proven that it is prepared to take part in trips to other planets, asteroids, and possibly prospective crewed expeditions to Mars thanks to its success in soft-landing and navigating on the Moon.

Conclusions

In conclusion, Chandrayaan-3’s achievement demonstrates ISRO’s prowess in manoeuvring, soft-landing, and lunar exploration. The importance of the project resides in its ability to use the Moon as a launch pad for subsequent interplanetary missions, as well as in its contribution to our knowledge of the Moon’s past and the larger objectives of space exploration.