India's Moon Mission: How Chandrayaan-3 is better than Chandrayaan-2; key differences explained
Even as the mission architecture remains the same, ISRO has implemented several improvements in Chandrayaan-3 in order to ensure success this time.
- Jul 13, 2023,
- Updated Jul 13, 2023 12:42 PM IST
On Friday, July 14, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the highly anticipated Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The launch is scheduled for 2:35 pm tomorrow and is India's second attempt to make a soft landing on the surface of the Moon.
The mission comes four years after the partial failure of Chandrayaan-2, which crash-landed on the surface of the Moon. Learning from its past instance, ISRO has implemented several improvements in Chandrayaan-3 in order to ensure success this time.
Key differences between Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3
1. Even as the mission architecture remains the same, there are certain differences between the two missions. The biggest difference between the two missions is in what's being taken onboard the GSLV-MkIII rocket. While Chandrayaan-2 comprised of Vikram lander, Pragyan rover, and an orbiter, Chandrayaan-3 will launch with just a lander and a rover.
Chandrayaan-3 will reportedly use the Orbiter already hovering above the Moon launched with Chandrayaan-2 for its communications and terrain mapping requirements.
2. The Chandrayaan-3 lander mission is equipped with “lander hazard detection and avoidance cameras” for coordination with the orbiter and the mission control during the landing process on the surface of the Moon. While Chandrayaan-2 had just one such camera, Chandrayaan-3 has been fitted with two such cameras, as per an India Today report.
3. Furthermore, the Vikram lander will have stronger legs than the previous version. The landing velocity has been increased from 3m/second to 2m/second, ISRO chairman S Somanath told Times of India. "That means even at 3m/sec, the lander will not crash or break (its legs)," Somanath added.
4. Another change is the addition of more fuel to Vikram so it has more capability to travel or handle dispersion. Furthermore, a new sensor has also been added. “We have added a new sensor called the laser doppler velocity metre, which will look at the lunar terrain. And through laser source sounding, we will be able to get components of three velocity vectors. We will be able to add this to the other instruments available, thereby creating redundancy in measurement," Somanath told TOI.
5. The ISRO chief had earlier shared details about what went wrong with the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-2 as it went hurtling down towards the identified 500m x 500 m landing spot on the lunar surface with the engines designed to reduce its velocity developing higher thrust than expected. This time, Somanath stated that the area of landing has been expanded from 500m x 500m to four km by 2.5 km.
6. The ISRO chief said the Vikram lander now has additional solar panels on other surfaces to ensure that it generates power no matter how it lands. The spacecraft was also tested for the ability to withstand vibrations by flying it over different terrains using a helicopter, while cranes were used to test the landing processes.
7. Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter was launched with an impressive list of nine in-situ instruments that are still operating in the Moon's orbit. In comparison, the propulsion module of the Chandrayaan-3 mission will have just a single instrument named Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planetary Earth (SHAPE), to study the spectral and polarimetric measurements of earth from the lunar orbit.
8. Another addition to the Chandrayaan-3 mission is the Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) being sent with the lander, which is a passive experiment to understand the dynamics of the Moon system.
Ahead of the launch, ISRO said it has opted for a "failure-based design" for the second attempt to ensure that the rover successfully lands on the moon even if some things go wrong, PTI reported.
ISRO Chairman S Somanath said instead of a success-based design in Chandrayaan-2, the space agency opted for a failure-based design in Chandrayaan-3, focused on what all can fail and how to protect it and ensure a successful landing.
(With inputs from Sibu Tripathi)
On Friday, July 14, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the highly anticipated Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The launch is scheduled for 2:35 pm tomorrow and is India's second attempt to make a soft landing on the surface of the Moon.
The mission comes four years after the partial failure of Chandrayaan-2, which crash-landed on the surface of the Moon. Learning from its past instance, ISRO has implemented several improvements in Chandrayaan-3 in order to ensure success this time.
Key differences between Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3
1. Even as the mission architecture remains the same, there are certain differences between the two missions. The biggest difference between the two missions is in what's being taken onboard the GSLV-MkIII rocket. While Chandrayaan-2 comprised of Vikram lander, Pragyan rover, and an orbiter, Chandrayaan-3 will launch with just a lander and a rover.
Chandrayaan-3 will reportedly use the Orbiter already hovering above the Moon launched with Chandrayaan-2 for its communications and terrain mapping requirements.
2. The Chandrayaan-3 lander mission is equipped with “lander hazard detection and avoidance cameras” for coordination with the orbiter and the mission control during the landing process on the surface of the Moon. While Chandrayaan-2 had just one such camera, Chandrayaan-3 has been fitted with two such cameras, as per an India Today report.
3. Furthermore, the Vikram lander will have stronger legs than the previous version. The landing velocity has been increased from 3m/second to 2m/second, ISRO chairman S Somanath told Times of India. "That means even at 3m/sec, the lander will not crash or break (its legs)," Somanath added.
4. Another change is the addition of more fuel to Vikram so it has more capability to travel or handle dispersion. Furthermore, a new sensor has also been added. “We have added a new sensor called the laser doppler velocity metre, which will look at the lunar terrain. And through laser source sounding, we will be able to get components of three velocity vectors. We will be able to add this to the other instruments available, thereby creating redundancy in measurement," Somanath told TOI.
5. The ISRO chief had earlier shared details about what went wrong with the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-2 as it went hurtling down towards the identified 500m x 500 m landing spot on the lunar surface with the engines designed to reduce its velocity developing higher thrust than expected. This time, Somanath stated that the area of landing has been expanded from 500m x 500m to four km by 2.5 km.
6. The ISRO chief said the Vikram lander now has additional solar panels on other surfaces to ensure that it generates power no matter how it lands. The spacecraft was also tested for the ability to withstand vibrations by flying it over different terrains using a helicopter, while cranes were used to test the landing processes.
7. Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter was launched with an impressive list of nine in-situ instruments that are still operating in the Moon's orbit. In comparison, the propulsion module of the Chandrayaan-3 mission will have just a single instrument named Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planetary Earth (SHAPE), to study the spectral and polarimetric measurements of earth from the lunar orbit.
8. Another addition to the Chandrayaan-3 mission is the Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) being sent with the lander, which is a passive experiment to understand the dynamics of the Moon system.
Ahead of the launch, ISRO said it has opted for a "failure-based design" for the second attempt to ensure that the rover successfully lands on the moon even if some things go wrong, PTI reported.
ISRO Chairman S Somanath said instead of a success-based design in Chandrayaan-2, the space agency opted for a failure-based design in Chandrayaan-3, focused on what all can fail and how to protect it and ensure a successful landing.
(With inputs from Sibu Tripathi)