The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday completed the launch rehearsal of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
“Chandrayaan-3 mission: The ‘Launch Rehearsal’ simulating the entire launch preparation and process lasting 24 hours has been concluded,” the space agency tweeted.
India’s third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, is scheduled to be launched on July 14, 2023, at 2.35 p.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft will be launched by the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3).
Landing in August
Last week, ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said that if the launch takes place as scheduled on July 14, the landing on the lunar surface would most likely take place on August 23 or 24.
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up to Chandrayaan-2, to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.
Editorial | Second moonshot: On the Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 14
Chandrayaan-3 is aimed at developing and demonstrating new technologies required for interplanetary missions. The spacecraft consists of an indigenous lander module, propulsion module and a rover. The lander will have the capability to soft land at a specified lunar site and deploy the rover, which will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface. The lander and the rover have scientific payloads to carry out experiments on the lunar surface.
