This will be India’s first soft landing on the surface of a space body.
“Thank you buddy,” ISRO wrote on X, announcing the successful separation ahead of the expected moon landing attempt on August 23rd.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched on July 14 into Earth orbit. On July 31, he headed for the Moon and on August 5 entered its orbit.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission has a budget of approximately US$73 million, and the immediate goal is a precise landing on the south pole of the moon. Such soft landings have previously been carried out only by the United States, the Soviet Union and China.
India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar probe successfully separated and is preparing to land on August 23
On board the Vikram lander is a small Pragyan rover. It is planned that the tandem will explore the surface of the moon during the lunar day (approximately 14 Earth days).
India is not the only country to attempt a soft landing in recent times. In early 2023, the Japanese company ispace experienced a mishap with a lander that most likely crashed. And in 2019, ILSpace’s private Israeli lander Beresheet also failed to land on the surface.
Later this year, private missions from the US will also attempt to land on the moon. At least two missions funded by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program are in the final stages of development.
Intuitive Machines has scheduled the launch of its private moon lander on Nov. 15 if the spaceport isn’t too busy. Astrobotic also has a Peregrine lander set to travel to the Moon aboard the United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket during its debut launch scheduled for late 2023.
