Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander Archives - Lokmarg

Chandrayaan-3: ISRO Releases 3D ‘Anaglyph’ Images Of Moon’s Surface

By LokMarg 5th September 2023

The Indian Space Research organisation on Tuesday put out a 3-dimensional ‘anaglyph’ image of the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander from the south pole of the Moon.

This image features the left image within the red channel, and the right image within the blue and green channels, resulting in a striking cyan hue.

“The Anaglyph presented here is created using NavCam Stereo Images, which consist of both a left and right image captured onboard the Pragyan Rover,” the space agency said on X (formerly Twitter)

Anaglyph is a simple visualization of the object or terrain in three dimensions from stereo or multi-view images.

“In this 3-channel image, the left image is positioned in the red channel, while the right image is placed in the blue and green channels (creating cyan). The difference in perspective between these two images results in the stereo effect, which gives the visual impression of three dimensions. Red and cyan glasses are recommended for viewing in 3D,” ISRO stated.

Red and cyan glasses are recommended for viewing in 3D. NavCam was developed by LEOS/ISRO. Data Processing is carried out by SAC/ISRO, the space agency added.

Notably, these images were released just a day after ISRO announced that the ‘Vikram Lander’ has been set into sleep mode at around 8 am (Indian Standard Time) on Monday morning.

ISRO said that the data collected by the payloads is received at the Earth and the Payloads are now switched off. It is expected by ISRO that Vikram Lander and Pragyaan will awake again on around September 22.

On August 23, India took a giant leap as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon’s South Pole, making it the first country to have achieved the historic feat and bringing to an end the disappointment over the crash landing of the Chandrayaan-2, four years ago. Overall, India became the fourth country – after the US, China, and Russia – to have successfully landed on the moon’s surface. (ANI)

Vikram Lander Is Set Into Sleep Mode: ISRO

By LokMarg 4th September 2023

In a major development, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced that the ‘Vikram Lander’ has been set into sleep mode at around 08 AM (Indian Standard Time) on Monday morning.

“Vikram Lander is set into sleep mode around 08:00 Hrs. IST today. Prior to that, in-situ experiments by ChaSTE, RAMBHA-LP and ILSA payloads are performed at the new location. The data collected is received at the Earth. Payloads are now switched off. Lander receivers are kept ON. Vikram will fall asleep next to Pragyan once the solar power is depleted and the battery is drained. Hoping for their awakening, around September 22, 2023,” ISRO posted on X.

The Vikram lander was carrying the Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) to measure surface thermal properties, the Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) to measure seismicity around the landing site, the Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) to study the gas and plasma environment, and a passive laser retroreflector array provided by NASA for lunar ranging studies.

After having landed, the Vikram Lander and the Pragyan rover performed different set tasks on the lunar surface, including finding the presence of sulphur and recording relative temperature. Upon landing, the lander and the rover were to operate for one lunar day. One day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth. (ANI)

Chandrayaan-3: Vikram Lander Undergoes First Successful Deboosting

By LokMarg 18th August 2023

Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander underwent a crucial deboosting manoeuvre and descended to a slightly lower orbit on Friday, after successfully getting separated from the propulsion module the day before.

The deboosting manoeuvre was scheduled at around 1600 IST.

“The Lander Module (LM) health is normal. LM successfully underwent a deboosting operation that reduced its orbit to 113 km x 157 km. The second deboosting operation is scheduled for August 20, 2023, around 0200 Hrs. IST,” tweeted ISRO.

Deboosting is the process of slowing down to position itself in an orbit where the orbit’s closest point to the Moon (Perilune) is 30 km and the farthest point (the Apolune) is 100 km.

“LM (lander module) is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow around 1600 Hrs., IST,” ISRO posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday while announcing the successful separation of the lander from the propulsion module.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander is named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919–1971), who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme.

On Wednesday, the spacecraft carried out the final lunar-bound orbit reduction manoeuvre of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, a week ahead of its scheduled landing on the south pole of the moon on August 23.

A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then it has been through a series of orbital manoeuvres.

It has been a month and three days since the Indian Space Research Organisation launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 14. The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.

ISRO is bidding to make a successful soft landing on the moon, which will make India the fourth country in the world to achieve the feat after the United States, Russia, and China.

The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, are safe and soft landing, rover roving on the moon’s surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.

The approved cost of Chandrayaan-3 is Rs 250 crores (excluding launch vehicle cost).

Chandrayaan-3’s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission’s progress.

Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was eventually deemed to have failed its core mission objectives.

The key scientific outcomes from Chandrayaan-2 include the first-ever global map for lunar sodium, enhancing knowledge on crater size distribution, unambiguous detection of lunar surface water ice with IIRS instrument and more.

During the Chandrayaan-1 mission, the satellite made more than 3,400 orbits around the moon and the mission was concluded when the communication with the spacecraft was lost on August 29, 2009, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), S Somanath last week expressed confidence in the progress of the Chandrayaan 3, providing reassurance that all systems were operating as planned.

Chairman S Somanath stated, “Everything is going fine now. There will be a series of manoeuvres until it lands (on the Moon) on 23rd August. The satellite is healthy.”

Moon serves as a repository of the Earth’s past and a successful lunar mission by India will help enhance life on Earth while also enabling it to explore the rest of the solar system and beyond.

Historically, spacecraft missions to the Moon have primarily targeted the equatorial region due to its favourable terrain and operating conditions. However, the lunar south pole presents a vastly different and more challenging terrain compared to the equatorial region. (ANI)