Mission on schedule! Chandrayaan-3 all set for final descent on Moon

As the world watches India's Chandrayaan-3 mission with bated breath, the country’s space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) says it's all set to start the final automatic landing sequence (ALS), which will allow the “powered descent” or “soft landing” of the "Vikram Lander" and deploy the “Pragyan Rover” on the Moon.

As the final countdown starts before the final descent, Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, termed it a "remarkable journey" from launch to the lunar surface...the story that propels India into the cosmos."

India will script history as Chandrayaan-3 makes the final landing on the Moon around 18:04 Hrs. IST today.

Besides, the premier space says it is all set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS) and is awaiting the arrival of the Lander Module (LM) at the designated point, around 17:44 Hrs. IST.

“Upon receiving the ALS command, the LM activates the throttleable engines for powered descent. The mission operations team will keep confirming the sequential execution of commands," ISRO says.

The space agency has assured India's Lunar mission is on schedule, and systems are undergoing regular checks. "Smooth sailing is continuing." The ISRO's Mission Operations Complex (MOX), meanwhile, is buzzed with energy and excitement.

The live telecast of the landing operations begins at 17:20 Hrs. IST today. The MOX is located at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.

The space agency has also shared some images of the Moon captured by the Chandrayaan-3's lander position detection camera (LPDC) from an altitude of about 70 km on August 19, 2023. These images assist the Lander Module in determining its position, latitude, and longitude, by matching them against an onboard Moon reference map. Its Lander Imager Camera 4 also send another set of images of the Moon on August 20, 2023.

In the last phase of its Moon journey, Chandrayaan-3 also established a two-way communication contact with its predecessor Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and also sent images of the Lunar’s far side area, which were captured by its Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC).

Space enthusiasts across the world can watch the Chandrayaan-3 landing on the Moon on August 23. People can do so via various modes, including the official ISRO website, its official YouTube channel, ISRO’s Facebook page, and DD National from 5:27 pm onwards on August 23.

India's long-awaited-for space mission, Chandrayaan-3, took off successfully from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on August 14, 2023, marking the country's third mission to the Moon. The spacecraft was inserted into the translunar orbit on August 1, 2023, successfully inserted into the lunar orbit on August 5, and separated from the propulsion module on August 17, 2023.

Chandrayaan-3 will travel over 300,000 km to reach the Moon after several orbit-raising maneuvers. Chandrayaan-3 consists of an indigenous Lander module, propulsion module, and a Rover, and the aim is to develop and show new technologies required for inter-planetary missions.

Notably, India's previous moon mission Chandrayaan-2 faced a setback on September 6, 2019, after Pragyan Rover was destroyed along with its Vikram Lander when it crash-landed on the Moon.