A Russian Luna 25 Lander Missing Chandrayaan 3-Initiated on August 20, 2014 at 8:14 a.m. ET
The people of India are proud of their nation’s space program. The Russian lander Luna 25 was to have crashed in the same region of the moon as Chandrayaan-3, which is where Wednesday’s landing attempt will be held. The technological accomplishments of India will be highlighted if India lands just after Russia does.
India’s space program is a source of national pride, as is the start-up of commercial space start-ups. India is working on space exploration in the same way that it is working on diplomatic push to become an ambitious power.
The lander is on the moon, swinging about 15 miles above the surface. On Wednesday at 8:14 a.m, the space station will fire its engines and begin its descent into the ocean. The engines will help stop the fall by guiding it to a soft landing.
The Indian Space Research Organization will give a live stream from the mission control room in Bengaluru. You can watch it on ISRO’s YouTube channel or website starting at 7:50 a.m. Eastern.
Chandrayaan means “moon craft” in Hindi. The landing module consists of the lander and the rover that will attempt to set down in the south polar region of the moon. The mission is robotic and there are no astronauts aboard.
Due to the fact that the sun will rise on Aug. 23, the landing site was selected. The mission is to end when the sun sets. The solar-powered lander and rover will make a range of measurements while on the surface.
But Russia’s Luna-25 lander wasn’t so lucky. On August 20, the craft malfunctioned and appears to have crashed while preparing for a landing planned for the next day. Luna-25 was to be deployed by Russia for a yearlong mission near the impact crater, which would have examined the regolith and pockets of water ice.
There was no ground intervention in Chandrayaan 3-‘s landing. The landing system took over before the start of the descent. India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization or ISRO, provided a live telecast in both Hindi and English.
The power descent phase began at about 8:15 am ET, during which time the craft’s speed slowed from 1,680 to 358 meters per second, and the altitude dropped from 30 to 7.4 kilometers over a period of 11.5 minutes. During the altitude hold phase, the craft turned its altimeters towards the moon to read how far from the regolith it was. Then began the fine braking phrase, which ran for nearly 3 minutes, as the altitude was reduced to 800 meters.
The vertical descent phase started around 8:29 am Eastern time, with the craft orienting its legs towards the landing site. It briefly hovered 150 meters above the surface as the craft’s sensors took readings of the safety of the landing site and re-targeted accordingly. Then, as it successfully set down on the regolith, the people in ISRO mission control headquarters in Bengaluru broke into cheers. “India is on the moon!” exclaimed ISRO chairman Vikram Sarabhai. Sarabhai asked the Prime Minister to speak. “Friends, on this joyous occasion I would like to address all the people of the world, the people of every country and region. India’s successful moon mission is not just India’s alone,” said Modi, during a part of the address delivered in English. The success will help moon missions by other countries as it belongs to everyone. I am certain that all countries in the world, even those from the south, are capable of achieving such things. We can all aspire for the moon and beyond.”