Chandrayaan 3 Soft Landing May Be Delayed: Official

As the Indian Space Research Organisation and the country gear up for the soft landing of the Chandrayaan 3 on the surface of the Moon, the space agency may postpone the landing to August 27 instead of August 23, according to an official. The official told the news agency Press Trust of India that the scenario would arise if the health parameters of the lander module are found to be “abnormal”.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had announced the time and date of the Chandrayaan 3 mission”s soft landing on Sunday, saying that the landing has been scheduled for August 23 at around 6:04 pm.

“The lander will try to land on the Moon”s surface from a height of 30 kilometers on August 23, and its velocity at that time will be 1.68 kilometers per second. We will focus on reducing that speed because the Moon”s gravitational force will also play a part,” the official told PTI in Ahmedabad.

“If we do not control that speed, there will be a chance of a crash landing. If any health parameter of the lander module is found to be abnormal on August 23, then we will postpone the landing to August 27,” the official added.

India”s pursuit of space exploration, according to the ISRO, “reaches a remarkable milestone with the impending Chandrayaan-3 Mission, poised to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface. This achievement marks a significant step forward for Indian science, engineering, technology, and industry, symbolising our nation”s progress in space exploration.”

The ISRO said that the soft landing of Chandrayaan 3 will contribute to fostering an environment of scientific inquiry and innovation.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2, which was India”s first mission to soft-land on the Moon. Chandrayaan-3 is designed to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.