‘WELCOME, BUDDY!’ Contact Established between Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module: ISRO

By R. Anil Kumar

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) took to microblogging site ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter to share an update on Chandrayaan-3‘s road to landing in the south pole of Earth’s satellite Moon.
• ISRO informed that the Lander Vikram that has been orbitting Moon since 5 August, has now established connection with Chandrayaan-2 orbiter.
• ISRO said the lander module of Chandrayaan-3, the third lunar mission of India, is expected to touch down on the surface of the Moon around 6.04 pm on August 23

Bangalore, August 21. ISRO said a two-way communication between the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and Chandrayaan-3’s Lunar Module has been established.

“‘Welcome, buddy!’ Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM. Two-way communication between the two is established. Mission Operation Complex (MOX), has now more routes to reach the Lander Module (LM),” the national space agency said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday took to microblogging site ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter to share an update on Chandrayaan-3’s road to landing in the south pole of Earth’s satellite Moon.

The Space Agency informed that the Lander Vikram that has been orbitting Moon since 5 August, has now established connection with Chandrayaan-2 orbiter.

ISRO had said on Sunday the lander module of Chandrayaan-3, the third lunar mission of India, is expected to touch down on the surface of the Moon around 6.04 pm on August 23.

The MOX (Mission Operations Complex) is located at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) here in Bengaluru.

ISRO also said, in an update, that the live telecast of the landing event will begin at 5.20 pm on August 23.

The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft comprising orbiter, lander and rover was launched in 2019.

The lander with a rover in its belly crashed into the Moon’s surface, failing in its mission to achieve a soft-landing.

ISRO said in 2019 that due to the precise launch and orbital manoeuvres, the mission life of the orbiter is increased to seven years.

Earlier in the day, former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and in-charge of the previous lunar mission ‘Chandrayaan-2’, K Sivan said that the mission will be a “grand success”.

“As far as this Chandrayaan-3 is concerned, there were many things that changed from Chandrayaan-2. There were many technologies and many many scientific things that needed to be changed. Those are changed,” the former ISRO Chairman pointed out.

He said that corrective measures have been taken after going through data generated by the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

The key scientific outcomes from Chandrayaan-2 include the first-ever global map for lunar sodium, enhancing knowledge on crater size distribution, unambiguous detection of lunar surface water ice with IIRS instrument and more.

The ‘Vikram’ lander module of the Chandrayaan-3 successfully separated from the propulsion module recently, and subsequently underwent crucial de-boosting manoeuvres and descended to a slightly lower orbit. 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.

India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is scheduled to make its landing on the Moon’s south pole on Wednesday, August 23, at approximately 6.04 pm. Chandrayaan-3 represents ISRO’s endeavour to achieve a successful soft landing on the moon.

If successful, India will become the fourth country in the world to accomplish this feat, joining the ranks of the United States, Russia, and China.

The world will be watching closely as India aims to make its mark in lunar exploration, demonstrating its capabilities and expertise in space missions.