ISRO announces Chandrayaan-3's landing date, time & where to watch it; Check details

As the scientific community is waiting with bated breath aiming for the successful third edition of India's moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 on Friday, here is a quick look at how the country's lunar expedition evolved over the years. The Chandrayaan programme was conceived by the Government of India and formally announced by former Prime Minister, the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee on August 15, 2003.

Chandrayaan-3 is India's second attempt to land on the surface of the Moon and the third Lunar mission of the country. It is developed at an estimated cost of Rs 615 crore

Chandrayaan-3 launch updates: The mission follows Chandrayaan-2, which failed a desired soft landing on the moon's surface in September 2019. | Latest News India

After a gap of nearly 50 years, Russia is planning to launch a lunar mission on August 11 and enter the race to become the first nation to land a rover on the Moon's south pole -- a potential source of water to support a future human presence there.

India's spacecraft Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander underwent a crucial deboosting manoeuvre, positioning itself in an orbit where the closest point to the Moon is 30 km and the farthest point is 100 km. The lander has been through a series of orbital manoeuvres and its scheduled landing is on August 23. Chandrayaan-3 follows up on India's Chandrayaan-2 mission, which faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019.

India will attempt a Moon landing this week, with its Chandrayaan-3 mission. This third mission from the Indian Space Research Organisation aims to become the first to conclusively discover evidence of water on the Moon, as well as explore the lunar south pole. However, as well as providing national pride for India, its space agency will be hoping a successful mission will have a real impact on the country's economy.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday said a two-way communication has been established between Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, Chandrayaan-3 mission's lander module. ‘Welcome, buddy! Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM. Two-way communication between the two is established. MOX has now more routes to reach the LM. Update: Live telecast of Landing event begins at 17:20 Hrs. IST, said ISRO, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

India's third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, is aiming for a soft landing on the lunar surface on August 23, 2023, following the loss of the Vikram lander in the Chandrayaan-2 mission a few years back. Chandrayaan-3 is thus the gritty India's fightback after failures and heartbreaks. Not only ISRO and the country's leaders, but citizens too will want a soft landing and propel India to a new zenith in the this field.

India on Wednesday became the fourth country to land on the moon after the Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole.