Chandrayaan-3

Why is in news? Chandrayaan-3 lander completes key tests

In a boost to India’s moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 successfully underwent EMI-EMC (Electro - Magnetic Interference/ Electro-Magnetic Compatibility) at U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru. The test was conducted between January 31 and February 2. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced this on 19^th February.

Chandrayaan-3 interplanetary mission has three major modules: the Propulsion module, Lander module, and Rover.

The mission's complexity calls for establishing radio-frequency (RF) communication links between the modules.

The EMI-EMC test is conducted for satellite missions to ensure the functionality of the satellite subsystems in the space environment and their compatibility with the expected electromagnetic levels.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a continuation of Chandrayaan-2, which was launched in July 2019 and had the goal of putting a rover on the lunar South Pole.

The Vikram lander’s subsequent failure prompted the development of a different mission to show off the landing skills required for the 2024 lunar polar exploration mission that is being proposed in collaboration with Japan.

It will have a landing module and an orbiter. But unlike Chandrayaan-2, this orbiter won’t be equipped with a research payload.

Its job will only be confined to carry the lander to the moon, oversee the landing from its orbit and communicate between the lander and the earth station.

Chandrayaan-2:

Chandrayaan-2 consisted of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon.

The Orbiter would watch the moon from a 100-km orbit, while the Lander and Rover modules were to be separated to make a soft landing on the moon’s surface.

ISRO had named the Lander module as Vikram, after Vikram Sarabhai, the pioneer of India’s space programme, and the Rover module as Pragyaan, meaning wisdom.

It was sent aboard the country’s most powerful geosynchronous launch vehicle, the GSLV-Mk 3.

However, lander Vikram, instead of a controlled landing, ended up crash-landing and prevented rover Pragyaan from successfully travelling on the surface of the moon.

The Orbiter, Lander, and Rover components of the Mission were assembled with the intention of investigating the Moon’s south pole.

It sought to explore the Moon’s exosphere, surface, and subsurface as a whole in a single mission, rather than just one particular location.

Why was the Lunar South Pole targeted for exploration?

The Lunar South pole is especially interesting because the lunar surface area that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the North Pole.

There could be a possibility of presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it.

In addition, the South Pole region has craters that are cold traps and contain a fossil record of the early Solar System.

GSLV-Mk 3:

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III was developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is a three-stage vehicle, designed to launch communication satellites into geostationary orbit.

It has a mass of 640 tonnes that can accommodate up to 8,000 kg payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 4000 kg payload to GTO (Geo-Synchronous Transfer Orbit).