By – Prakarsh Kastwar
Former ISRO chief K Sivan explained about how Chandrayaan-3 was made more efficient to succeed two days before Vikram Lander’s soft landing attempt.
Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan highlighted crucial lessons gained from the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which failed to reach its soft-landing aim four years ago, on Sunday, two days before Chandrayaan-3’s soft-landing attempt on the Moon.
“The last time we went through the data following the landing process…As a result, several corrective steps were implemented. Not only that, but we went above and above the corrections. We increased margins wherever they were lower…According to the ex-ISRO chief, “the system is going with more ruggedness based on the lessons we learned from Chandrayaan 2…”
What became of Chandrayaan-2 ?
In September 2019, Chandrayaan-2 was launched during Sivan’s tenure as ISRO chief. The mission failed in its final stages when the Vikram Lander lost contact with the ground state just 2.1 kilometers above the Moon, leaving Indians disappointed. Notably, a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi consoled an upset Sivan at the time.
Many ISRO experts, both current and former, have voiced strong confidence in the mission’s success, which might make history on Wednesday. If successful, Chandrayaan-3 will be the first mission to land on the lunar south pole. Furthermore, a successful soft landing will make India the only fourth country to accomplish the feat.
‘Chandrayaan-3’s systems have been enhanced.’
Former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair had previously detailed how it was developed by thoroughly reviewing the blunders from the previous mission.
Nair noted that various improvements were made to the technical parts of the present mission, including as thruster settings, landing gear strengthening, and computer software modifications, to improve the operation’s efficiency. “…everything humanly possible has been done” to assure the mission’s success, he added, adding that ISRO’s track record is to learn from failures and push forward, and Chandrayaan-3 represents that stage.
The mission has three important objectives: a safe and soft landing on the lunar south pole, wandering around the surface of the moon, and investigating its ecology. On Wednesday evening, the Vikram Lander module will try the first objective. According to ISRO, the spacecraft has completed its de-boosting maneuvers and is now completing internal checks and surveying the Moon’s terrain before landing.