Chandrayaan-3 Highlights: Vikram Lander scheduled to make soft landing at 6.04 pm on 23 August

Chandrayaan 3: Live updates on this blog on India's lunar mission has been closed. To stay updated with the latest updates on India's lunar mission, click on Chandrayaan-3 LIVE Updates.

The critical process of soft-landing has been dubbed by many including ISRO officials as "17 minutes of terror", with the entire process being autonomous when the lander has to fire its engines at the right times and altitudes, use the right amount of fuel, and scan of the lunar surface for any obstacles or hills or craters before finally touching down.

The Assam School Education Department has asked all schools to organise special assemblies of students to watch live stream of Chandrayan-3 landing on the moon on Wednesday.

The School Education department in a letter to the Director of Elementary education, Secondary education, State Council of Education, Research and Training (SCERT) and the Managing Director of Adarsh Vidyalaya has directed them to organise special assemblies of students from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm on the occasion in all the schools of the state.

Excitement rose in India on Tuesday on the eve of a much-anticipated moon landing, with prayers held for its success, schools marshalling students to watch a live telecast of the event and space enthusiasts organising parties to celebrate.

Meanwhile, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is scheduled to land on the lunar south pole at 1234 GMT on Wednesday, days after the failure of a Russian vehicle trying to achieve the same feat.

Success for Chandrayaan-3 will make it the first to land on the lunar south pole, a region whose shadowed craters are thought to contain water ice that could support a future moon settlement. (Reuters)

In the previous mission too, ISRO's social media handles had attempted to use lighthearted messaging with a hashtag called #CY2Chronicles. One of the initial posts in the Chandrayaan-2 chronicles series was a comic strip depicting the separation of the propulsion module from the lander module. The post on September 6, 2019 on X (then known as Twitter), Chandrayaan-2's lander module is depicted as saying to the propulsion module -- "It was quite the journey indeed! I will see you around -- in the next orbit." Quite the journey indeed for Chandrayaan-2's module, having orbited through since then to meet its successor Chandrayaan 3's lander module and greet it with a "Welcome buddy!" (PTI)

“The Chandrayaan 3 has a wider area of 4.5 km*2.5 km. The priority is safe landing. Comparing to Chandrayaan 2, required fuel has also been enhanced. The power source has also been enhanced,” Padma Shri awardee and former ISRO scientist Mylswamy Annadurai told ANI.

"ISRO scientists have worked hard for this, and it will definitely be successful. The south pole of the moon is very important because there is a possibility of water. An interview model of Chandrayaan has also been prepared here as well as a screen has been installed which gives complete information about Chandrayaan-3 Mission," Project Coordinator of Bhopal Science Centre, Saket Singh Kaurav, told ANI.

“I want to congratulate ISRO. I will pray for a successful soft landing,” says BJP SP Baghel on the scheduled landing of Chandrayaan-3 on Moon's surface tomorrow," said Satya Pal Singh Baghel, BJP Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh's Agra.

On Chandrayaan 3 mission, Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM and BJP leader Brajesh Pathak told ANI, "I congratulate the citizens of the country and all the scientists involved in the mission. Under the leadership of PM Modi, the country is moving forward in all sectors."

People offer namaz at Lucknow's Islamic Center of India for successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 tomorrow. 

The Uttar Pradesh administration on 22 August directed that the government schools to remain open on 23 August between 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm and arrange live telecast of Chandrayaan-3's soft landing on the Moon for students.

1. Prakash Raj has now provided detailed context to his tweet from Sunday on Chandrayaan-3 that included a joke on a chaiwala or a teaseller. While he got trolled massively for that remark, he clarified on Monday that it's a reference to the Kerala chaiwala joke from the times of Neil Armstrong, the first man to reach the moon.

2. In a new tweet on Tuesday, Prakash Raj addressed his trolls and wrote, “ATTENTION:-dear #Unacedemy trolls and #godimedia who know only one #Chaiwala .. proudly presenting .. the ever inspiring our own malayali chaiwala since 1960 s ..if you want to be educated please read #justasking"

3. He also addressed the link to a blog post that narrated the Malayali chaiwala-Neil Armstrong joke in detail. The story goes like when Neil Armstrong reached the moon, a Malayali chaiwala was already there, as he had set his shop to serve South Indian delicacies to the aliens. When Neil pleaded to him that he needed to prove he was the first man on moon, so that the US gets ahead of its Cold War nemesis the USSR in the space mission, the Malayali chaiwala called Rajendra Krishan Menon agreed. (HT)

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: As anticipation grows for India's planned Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing on Wednesday, an expert delves into the fascinating world of Moon exploration.

The Moon has captivated human curiosity for centuries, and with each new mission, we uncover more about its geological history, composition and potential for scientific discovery.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said he is praying for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander module on the moon which is eagerly awaited by the entire country. He said it is a matter of joy that the Chandrayaan lander module is going to land on the surface of moon on Wednesday.

ISRO today released images of the Moon captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission from an altitude of about 70 km on August 19.

See pics here

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: ISRO Chairman S Somanath assumed leadership of ISRO in January last year, becoming a pivotal figure in India's ambitious moon mission. Prior to this role, he served as the director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, both of which are primary centres responsible for developing rocket technologies for ISRO. Under his guidance, Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1 (a mission to study the Sun), and Gaganyaan (India's first manned mission) are being overseeen by him.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that the moon landing by 'Chandrayaan-3's will be telecast live in all State. -run shools in Uttar Pardesh. Schools will open specially for one hour in the evening for the viewing.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is at the helm of this ambitious endeavour. Here are the key individuals behind India's largest space mission, Chandrayaan-3, 

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: A mission to study the Sun, and launching a climate observation satellite, a test vehicle as part of Gaganyaan human space flight programme and an Indo-US synthetic aperture radar -- ISRO has a packed schedule ahead. In addition, XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite), the country's first dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions, is also ready for launch, an ISRO official said on Tuesday.

Chandrayaan-3 LIVE Updates: Mission to moon is on schedule, the ISRO said on Tuesday. A day ahead of the scheduled touch-down of its lander on the surface of the Moon

Chandrayaan-3’s development phase commenced in January 2020, with the launch planned sometime in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission's progress.

ISRO on Tuesday released images of the Moon captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission from an altitude of about 70 km on August 19.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: The space race India aims to win this week by landing first on the moon's south pole is about science, the politics of national prestige and a new frontier: money.

India's Chandrayaan-3 is heading for a landing on the lunar south pole on Wednesday. If it succeeds, analysts and executives expect an immediate boost for the South Asian nation's nascent space industry.

Chandrayaan-3 mission is on schedule! The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Tuesday said that the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), located at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) here, is buzzing with energy and excitement. 

Read more here

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: In its latest update on Chandrayaan-3 soft landing, ISRO on Tuesday said the mission is on schedule and systems are undergoing regular checks.

“Smooth sailing is continuing, The Mission Operations Complex (at ISRO) is buzzed with energy and excitement!” ISRO posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: Actor Prakash Raj has been booked in a police station of Karnataka's Bagalkot district over a social media post, in which he allegedly mocked India's ambitious third lunar mission-- Chandrayaan-3, police said on Tuesday.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: The Chandrayaan-3 mission is on schedule, the ISRO said on Tuesday, a day before the scheduled touch-down of its lander on the surface of the Moon.

The space agency said the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), located at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) here, is buzzing with energy and excitement.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: A Coimbatore-based miniature artist has designed a 1.5-inch tall model of Chandrayaan-3 , India's Mission to the Moon, using 4 grams of gold.

Miniature artist named Mariappan said he had made this miniature to express his gratitude to all the scientists involved in the Chandrayaan project.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: ISRO's ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) is all set to land on the lunar surface on Wednesday evening, as India eyes to become the first country to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: ISRO releases images of the Moon captured by Lander Position Detection Camera from an altitude of about 70 km.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: Chandrayaan-3 mission: The Mission Operations Complex is buzzing with energy and excitement, said ISRO.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: Asserting that the lander and rover of India's third lunar mission have been made from the learnings of Chandrayaan-2 failure, the former Professor of Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) RC Kapoor on Tuesday said that the Chandrayaan-3 is equipped in every way and its landing will be successful as prescribed.

The space scientist and astronomer, while speaking to ANI said that this time the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has learned from the failure of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, launched in 2019.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: Ahead of the much-awaited soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of the Moon, Indian Institute of Astrophysics director Annapurni Subramaniam said the problems faced during the Chandrayaan-2 landing were identified and corrected, adding that she expects the mission to be successful.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: Chandrayaan-3 is just a few hours away from the soft landing on the moon. The suspense over the historic lunar landing of the Indian spacecraft has gripped not only the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) but also millions of Indians in the country.

Read more here

Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft experienced a lunar crash due to engine failure, head of Russia's space agency said on Monday. The pilotless Luna-25 was on a mission to become the first spacecraft to land on the moon's south pole, a region believed to contain valuable reserves of frozen water and precious elements, reported AP.

Chandrayaan-3 Live Updates: Attempted landings on the moon have failed before. Russia's Luna-25 craft had been scheduled to land on the south pole this week but spun out of control on approach and crashed on Sunday.

The south pole - far from the equatorial region targeted by previous missions, including the crewed Apollo landings - is full of craters and deep trenches.

ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission is on track for an attempted landing on Wednesday, the space agency has said. A previous Indian mission failed in 2019 to safely land near the area targeted by Chandrayaan-3.

Both the United States and China have planned missions to the south pole.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) incorporated the ‘failure-based design’ that focuses on potential failure scenarios and how to protect the mission, according to a report published by Business Today. 

Scientists are interested in pockets of ancient water ice because they could provide a record of lunar volcanoes, material that comets and asteroids delivered to Earth, and the origin of oceans.

If water ice exists in sufficient quantities, it could be a source of drinking water for moon exploration and could help cool equipment. It could also be broken down to produce hydrogen for fuel and oxygen to breathe, supporting missions to Mars or lunar mining.

The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty prohibits any nation from claiming ownership of the moon. There is no provision that would stop commercial operations.

A U.S.-led effort to establish a set of principles for moon exploration and the use of its resources, the Artemis Accords, has 27 signatories. China and Russia have not signed.

Chandrayaan-3, the hope of not only the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) but also millions of Indians, is just a day away from its historic lunar landing on August 23, 2023.

Read more here

As early as the 1960s, before the first Apollo landing, scientists had speculated that water could exist on the moon. Samples the Apollo crews returned for analysis in the late 1960s and early 1970s appeared to be dry.

In 2008, Brown University researchers revisited those lunar samples with new technology and found hydrogen inside tiny beads of volcanic glass. In 2009, a NASA instrument aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandrayaan-1 probe detected water on the moon's surface.

In the same year, another NASA probe that hit the south pole found water ice below the moon's surface. An earlier NASA mission, the 1998 Lunar Prospector, had found evidence that the highest concentration of water ice was in the south pole's shadowed craters. (Reuters)

India's space agency is attempting to land a spacecraft on the moon's south pole, a mission that could advance India's space ambitions and expand knowledge of lunar water ice, potentially one of the moon's most valuable resources.