Chandrayaan 3 lander and rover, India's lunar mission to replace Chandrayaan 2's lander/rover Options

[Phil Stooke]

I am starting a new thread for this mission which should fly this year.

Phil

[Thorsten Denk]

Not long ago there was the info that the launch had slipped to 2023.
But then it was told "August 2022".
Let's wait and see...

Thorsten

[Ohsin]

New payload inclusion, it would be mounted atop propulsion module.

The propulsion module will carry the lander till lunar orbit insertion and deployment of lander. After that, the module will be utilised for science payload operations

The propulsion module is configured to carry a science payload to observe Earth from the lunar orbit.

SHAPE: Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth onboard Chandrayaan-3

SHAPE is an experiment on-board Chandrayaan-3 Mission for the study of spectropolarimetric signatures of the habitable planet Earth in the near-Infrared (NIR) wavelength range (1 – 1.7 µm). The spectro-polarimeter is mounted on the Propulsion Module (PM) of Chandrayaan-3 mission. The payload will observe full-disc Earth from a distant vantage point, Moon, in order to ‘mimic’ Earth-like Exo-planets.

SHAPE is being designed with two packages:

(1) Electro-optical Detector System (EODS)

(2) Radio Frequency Source (RFS).

https://cosparhq.cnes.fr/assets/uploads/202..._compressed.pdf

[Phil Stooke]

Very interesting. Thanks for keeping us informed.

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

Chandrayaan 3 may be slipping to the end of 2023 (or just beyond). Here is an LPSC abstract on landing sites with 8 candidates.

https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2023/pdf/1037.pdf

Phil

[Holder of the Tw...]

In that abstract, I am really confused by the labeling of some of the landing sites on the lunar picture as compared to the latitudes listed in the adjoining table.

[Phil Stooke]

They are all negative latitudes (i.e. south latitudes) - look closely and you will see the negative signs. I have not mapped those points yet but I didn't notice a problem on a first read.

Site 5 is the Chandrayaan 2 site.

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

Ok... I was wrong in my previous post. Sorry about that. I looked at the maximum and minimum ranges of latitude and longitude in the table and on the map and they were essentially the same. But now I am mapping them I find that the site numbers do not match between the table and the map. For instance, site 1 in the table seems to be site 8 on the map. The numbering doesn't match the ranking either.

Here is a map with the numbers from the table in red.

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

I think I have tracked down the source of the discrepancy. This abstract from the 2021 LPSC:

https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2021/pdf/1396.pdf

shows exactly the same map but refers to the sites as areas of interest and discusses mapping them using the OHRC camera on Chandrayaan 2.

I think that the new abstract uses a renumbered list of landing site candidates but repeats the old map without updating it.

Phil

[Ohsin]

We have seen flurry of testing related updates recently.

https://www.isro.gov.in/Flight_Acceptance_H...LVM3-M4_C3.html
https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan3_EMI_EMC_Test.html
https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan_3_Modul...amic_Tests.html

ISRO Chairman is still sticking with June-end/July 2023 launch. @1m48s in following.

https://www.theweek.in/videos/video-feature...2377122112.html

[Phil Stooke]

https://blog.jatan.space/p/moon-monday-issue-120

The very useful blog by Jatan Mehta contains an interesting update about Chandrayaan 3. A presentation at a recent conference (too bad we don't have public abstracts!) gave the backup landing site for the mission. It's not, as one might have suspected, one of the eight sites discussed above. It is further west, at 69.49° S, 17.33° W. This is close to the backup site for Chandrayaan 2's lander Vikram.

On that subject... will this lander be Vikram 2 or will it get a new name? Will its rover be Pragyan 2 or will it get a new name? We should know fairly soon.

Phil

[Ohsin]

Chandrayaan-3 launch is scheduled in mid-july. (might be 12 July per someone on the inside)

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sc...w/100322580.cms

to meet the mid-July window for the launch of India’s third lunar mission, has begun the process of final assembly of payloads at the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru.

https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/nationa...ndrayaan-3.html

"Chandrayaan-3 mission is scheduled in July second week," a senior official of the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency under the Department of Space told PTI on Thursday.

[Ohsin]

More on tentative schedule from ex-ISRO official.

https://twitter.com/DrPVVenkitakri1/status/...160144972587009

Dear India,
Stay tuned for Chandrayan 3 launch by my dear GSLV MK3 on July 12th and touchdown on August 23rd .
Mark the date and calendar.
Be glued to your TVs to cheer up!

EDIT: Tweet has been deleted so here is a report quoting ISRO official

https://pressreader.com/article/281616719731185

While Isro did not officially confirm the dates, a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the project is moving on track.

“The project is right on track, and the way things are moving, the launch is expected to be on July 12,” the official said.

“The lunar touchdown is likely on August 23,” the official said.

[Phil Stooke]

I have made maps showing my current understanding of the Chandrayaan 3 landing sites. The first map shows the two candidates (larger circles) discussed in 2021, the 8 candidates from earlier this year and the site chosen for the landing, as well as the site of the Vikram crash from Chandrayaan 2. The second map shows the alternative site and the alternative for Chandrayaan 2.

If anyone has any corrections especially for the Hindi names I will be pleased to get them. I have been looking for a map of the Moon labelled in Hindi or any other Indian language, but so far I have not been able to find anything. Tips would be appreciated.

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

Here is a version of the above map with the Luna 25 ellipse added. It looks like Luna 25 will launch 1 day after Chandrayaan 3 but will fly a more direct route and land about a month earlier.

Phil

[Ohsin]

In the evening hours on Friday, the slow-moving, specialised truck ferrying the spacecraft from UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru arrived at India's spaceport, under a security blanket.

https://www.wionews.com/science-technology/...y-launch-597257

[Ohsin]

NOTAM for LVM3-M4 / Chandrayaan-3 with enforcement duration 0800-1000 (UTC), 12 July to 25 July 2023.

CODE

A1707/23 (Issued for VOMF PART 1 OF 3) - LVM3-M3 ROCKET LAUNCH FM SHAR RANGE, SRIHARIKOTA WILL TAKE
PLACE AS PER FLW DETAILS.THE LAUNCH WILL BE ON ANY ONE OF
THE DAY DRG THIS PERIOD.ACTUAL DATE OF LAUNCH WILL BE
INTIMATED 24 HR IN ADVANCE THROUGH A SEPARATE NOTAM.
LAUNCH PAD COORD: 134312N 0801348E
NO FLT IS PERMITTED OVER THE DNG ZONES.
A)DANGER ZONE -1:IS A CIRCLE OF 10 NAUTICAL MILES AROUND THE
LAUNCHER.
B)DANGER ZONE -2:IS AN AREA BOUNDED BY FOLLOWING COORDINATES:
123000N 0824000E-131500N 0825000E-124500N 0841000E-
120000N 0840000E
C)DANGER ZONE -3:IS AN AREA BOUNDED BY FOLLOWING COORDINATES:
114500N 0843500E-123500N 0844500E-114500N 0871500E-
105500N 0870500E
RTE AFFECTED IN CHENNAI FIR
W20, Q24, Q23, V4, V9, Q11, A465, P761, N571, V3
CLOSURES/ALTN RTE FOR OVERFLYING
1.W20 NOT AVBL BTN MMV-KAMGU
ALTN: MMV-DCT-DOHIA-DCT-RAMDO-DCT-KAMGU
PART 1 OF 3. DLY 0800-1000, 12 JUL 08:00 2023 UNTIL 25 JUL 10:00 2023. CREATED:
21 JUN 12:06 2023

[Phil Stooke]

Great news! Looking forward very much to a successful flight. Maybe when the launch happens we will learn the names given to the lander and rover.

Phil

[Ohsin]

Phil it appears at least the lander is being referred simply as 'Chandrayaan-3 lander' this time.

https://www.isro.gov.in/chandrayaan3_gallery.html


Previously for Chandrayaan-2, the label on lander read as 'Vikram Chandrayaan-2'

[Phil Stooke]

Thanks. I hope we see a successful landing, and that you will be able to share links to things in the Indian media that we might not find ourselves.

Phil

[Ohsin]

They'll retain the names of lander and rover!

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to retain the names of the Chandrayaan-2 lander and rover for their Chandrayaan-3 equivalents as well, Chairman of the space agency S. Somanath told The Hindu. This means, the Chandrayaan-3 lander will bear the name ‘Vikram’ (after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme) and the rover, ‘Pragyan’.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kera...cle67008553.ece

[Phil Stooke]

Thanks for this. So not Vikram 2 and Pragyan 2, as they could have chosen. I seem to recall at the time of Chandrayaan 2 that there was a plan to name the landing site as well, but it was never done because the landing was not successful. I hope this one is successful!

Phil

[Ohsin]

13 July, 1430 (IST) or 0900 (UTC)

The launch of Chandrayaan-3 has been scheduled for July 13 at 2:30 pm, officials said on Wednesday.

https://indianexpress.com/article/technolog...launch-8691043/

[Ohsin]

New NOTAM suggests launch date is now no earlier than 14 July.

CODE

A1845/23 (Issued for VOMF PART 1 OF 2) - LVM3-M4 ROCKET LAUNCH FM SHAR RANGE, SRIHARIKOTA WILL TAKE
PLACE AS PER FLW DETAILS.THE LAUNCH WILL BE ON ANY ONE OF
THE DAY DRG THIS PERIOD.ACTUAL DATE OF LAUNCH WILL BE
INTIMATED 24 HR IN ADVANCE THROUGH A SEPARATE NOTAM.
LAUNCH PAD COORD: 134312N 0801348E
NO FLT IS PERMITTED OVER THE DNG ZONES.
A)DANGER ZONE -1:IS A CIRCLE OF 10 NAUTICAL MILES AROUND THE
LAUNCHER.
B)DANGER ZONE -2:IS AN AREA BOUNDED BY FOLLOWING COORDINATES:
123000N 0824000E
131500N 0825000E
124500N 0841000E
120000N 0840000E
C)DANGER ZONE -3:IS AN AREA BOUNDED BY FOLLOWING COORDINATES:
114500N 0843500E
123500N 0844500E
114500N 0871500E
105500N 0870500E
RTE AFFECTED IN CHENNAI FIR
W20, Q24, Q23, V4, V9, Q11, A465, P761, N571, V3
CLOSURES/ALTN RTE FOR OVERFLYING
1.W20 NOT AVBL BTN MMV-KAMGU
ALTN: MMV-DCT-DOHIA-DCT-RAMDO-DCT-KAMGU
2. Q24 NOT AVBL BTN MMV - KAMGU
ALTN: MMV-DCT-DOHIA-DCT-RAMDO-DCT-KAMGU (UNI DIRECTIONAL)
3. Q23 NOT AVBL BTN RINTO - MMV
ALTN: RINTO-DCT-TTP-DCT-GUANI-DCT-MMV (UNI DIRECTIONAL)
4. V4 NOT AVBL BTN BOPRI - MMV
ALTN: BOPRI-DCT-RINTO-DCT-TTP-DCT-GUANI-DCT-MMV (UNI DIRECTIONAL)
5. V9 NOT AVBL BTN GUNRI - MMV
ALTN: GUNRI-DCT-GURAS-DCT- KOLCA -DCT-MMV (UNI DIRECTIONAL)
6. Q11 NOT AVBL BTN GURAS -MMV
ALTN: GURAS-DCT-KOLCA-DCT-MMV
7. A465 NOT AVBL BTN GURAS-MMV
ALTN: GURAS-DCT-KOLCA-DCT-MMV
8. P76
END PART 1 OF 2. DLY 0800-1000, 14 JUL 08:00 2023 UNTIL 25 JUL 10:00 2023. CREATED:
05 JUL 10:03 2023

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1676506357359603712

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1676507229607047169

Encapsulated assembly has been mated with LV.

[Ohsin]

That would be 0905 UTC

The launch is scheduled for July 14, 2023, at 14:35 Hrs. IST from the Second Launch Pad, SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota.

https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan3.html

[Ohsin]

Stream link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2ueCg9bvvQ

Press-kit
https://www.isro.gov.in/media_isro/pdf/Miss...n3_brochure.pdf

[Holder of the Tw...]

It took until late yesterday for Spaceflight Now to finally put this launch on their schedule. I tried for two weeks to notify them by email, but the address they gave to report updates kept coming back as "undeliverable".

[kenny]

Launch due in about 15 minutes (09.00 UTC, 10.00 BST).

livestreaming now....

Chandrayaan 3 launch.

[kenny]

Successful launch and spacecraft separation...

[tolis]

Any word on signal acquisition?

[kenny]

According to the BBC, ISRO tweeted that "the health of the spacecraft is normal". Can't currently source this.

ESA states that its ground station in Kourou will begin tracking the spacecraft as it rises above the horizon in French Guiana tomorrow morning (CEST), 15 July.

[kenny]

Independent source listing the frequencies confirms signal acquisition (thanks to Gurbir Singh, UK)

Chandaryaan 3 on Twitter

[kenny]

The Indian Space Research Organization has confirmed that Chandrayaan-3 is in “precise orbit” and that the health of the spacecraft is “normal”.

About 3 hours after launch ISRO Chairman S Somanath stated: "The Chandrayaan-3 will be injected into lunar trajectory on August 1.” (after 5 or so orbits of Earth)

And: "If everything goes normal then landing on the moon is expected on August 23 at around 5.47pm IST." (12.17 UTC)

[kenny]

A few minutes ago ISRO gave a new Chandrayaan-3 Mission update:

The first orbit-raising maneuver (Earthbound firing-1) is successfully performed at ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru.
Spacecraft is now in 41762 km x 173 km orbit.

The spacecraft's health is normal.

[nogal]

Several interesting data can be found in ISRO's Chandrayaan 3 details page.

For instance, the prime landing site is given as "4 km x 2.4 km [centered on, presumably] 69.367621 S, 32.348126 E"
Fernando

[kenny]

Chandrayaan-3 has successfully performed the first of its five planned orbit raising manoeuvres, raising the apogee of its orbit from 36,307 km to 41,762 km.

a couple of relevant graphics from ISRO...

[nogal]

Here are some images of the site listed as prime (please see my previous post). I roughly superimposed part of the LROC image M1421908349L on Google Earth (Moon).


The over view with the LROC image outlined.

Just the LROC cropped area.


A closer look


The area around the targeted landing point.
Fernando

EDIT: Corrected the LROC image Id. Sorry for ay inconvenience.

[Ohsin]

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1680845817903722497

The second orbit-raising maneuver (Earth-bound apogee firing) is performed successfully.
The spacecraft is now in 41603 km x 226 km orbit.
The next firing is planned for tomorrow between 2 and 3 pm IST.

https://twitter.com/coastal8049/status/1680886970069954560

Acquisition of signal from #Chandrayaan3 after a minor perigee raising burn during the preceding apogee. The burn raised the perigee slightly, likely to reduce the effects of atmospheric drag over the weeks to come on the orbit.

ISRO has not published orbit raising plan like previous time. Fan made infographics being shared around are bit misleading.

[Ohsin]

Some neat visuals of well tracked Chandrayaan-3
https://www.deeprandomsurvey.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eemUqOqkA5c

[Ohsin]

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1681236337024974850

Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The mission is on schedule.
The third orbit-raising maneuver (Earth-bound perigee firing) is performed successfully from ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru.
The next firing is planned for July 20, 2023, between 2 and 3 pm IST.

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1681293895341162499

Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The spacecraft has attained a 51400 km x 228 km orbit, as planned.

[nprev]

Thanks for these progress updates, Ohsin; much appreciated!

[Ohsin]

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1681960236347965440

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:���� India celebrates #InternationalMoonDay 2023 by propelling Chandrayaan-3 ��️ a step closer to the Moon ��
The fourth orbit-raising maneuver (Earth-bound perigee firing) is performed successfully from ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru.
The next firing is planned for July 25, 2023, between 2 and 3 pm IST.

Edit:
https://twitter.com/isro/status/1682029955746770944

Chandrayaan-3 has attained an orbit of 71351 km x 233 km orbit, as intended.

[Phil Stooke]

The mission website is counting down days to the landing. This is a more informative website than I have seen for previous ISRO missions, though my experience is very limited.

https://www.antrikshindia.space/Spacecrafts...an%203/cy3.html

Phil

[Ohsin]

Websites pop-up during important events.. The date and time is just from interviews and press conference chairman did.
https://youtu.be/ddoTvsPl-Sw?t=372

[Ohsin]

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The orbit-raising maneuver (Earth-bound perigee firing) is performed successfully from ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru.
The spacecraft is expected to attain an orbit of 127609 km x 236 km. The achieved orbit will be confirmed after the observations.
The next firing, the TransLunar Injection (TLI), is planned for August 1, 2023, between 12 midnight and 1 am IST.

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1683767962560512000

[Ohsin]

TLI burn conducted successfully!

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
Chandrayaan-3 completes its orbits around the Earth and heads towards the Moon.
A successful perigee-firing performed at ISTRAC, ISRO has injected the spacecraft into the translunar orbit.
Next stop: the Moon ��
As it arrives at the moon, the Lunar-Orbit Insertion (LOI) is planned for Aug 5, 2023.

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1686089881875775488

Edit:
https://twitter.com/isro/status/1686327939280035840

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The spacecraft’s health is normal.
Today’s perigee burn has successfully raised Chandrayaan-3 orbit to 288 km x 369328 km.
In this orbit, the spacecraft enters the moon’s sphere of influence.
A crucial maneuvre at perilune would achieve the Lunar Orbit Injection (LOI).

[Ohsin]

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1687859829803466753

https://www.isro.gov.in/Ch3_Lunar_Orbit_Ins...ss_Release.html

August 5, 2023

Chandrayaan-3 Mission: Update

Today, the Chandrayaan-3 mission achieved a crucial milestone with the successful completion of the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI). The insertion was carried out by retro-burning at the Perilune for 1835 seconds, starting at 19:12 Hrs. IST. The maneuver resulted in an orbit of 164 km x 18074 km, as intended.

This is the third time in succession that ISRO has successfully inserted its spacecraft into the lunar orbit, apart from doing so once into the Martian orbit.

As the mission progresses, a series of maneuvers have been planned to gradually reduce Chandrayaan-3's orbit and position it over the lunar poles. After some manevres, the propulsion module will separate from the lander while in orbit. Following that, a series of complex braking maneuvers will be executed to facilitate a soft landing in the South Polar region of the Moon on August 23, 2023. The health of Chandrayaan-3 is normal. Throughout the mission, the health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC), the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antenna at Byalalu, near Bengaluru, with the support from ESA and JPL Deep space antenna.

The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled for August 6, 2023, between 22:30 and 23:30 Hrs. IST.

[Ohsin]

Thanks to reddit user u/isrosene for noticing this presentation, goldmine of details on Chandrayaan-3 that will interest everyone here.

Talk by "Chandrayaan-3: ISRO's Moon Exploration" by S Somanath (Chairman, ISRO) (6 August 2023)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ2sNRP1opY

[Hungry4info]

Chandrayaan-3 enters Lunar orbit (video/animation)
https://twitter.com/TitaniumSV5/status/1688212003016577024

Attached are a couple of the frames to give you an idea of how the animation goes.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Ohsin]

Chandrayaan-3 enters Lunar orbit (video/animation)
https://twitter.com/TitaniumSV5/status/1688212003016577024

Attached are a couple of the frames to give you an idea of how the animation goes.

Direct links are better:
https://www.isro.gov.in/Ch3_Video_Lunar_Orbit_Insertion.html [MP4]


https://twitter.com/isro/status/1688248504458846208

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The spacecraft successfully underwent a planned orbit reduction maneuver. The retrofiring of engines brought it closer to the Moon's surface, now to 170 km x 4313 km.

The next operation to further reduce the orbit is scheduled for August 9, 2023, between 13:00 and 14:00 Hrs. IST.

[Ohsin]

I prepared the landing profile for CY3 based on data from IISc talk. There is some discrepancy about whether descent after retargetting is 38s or 32s long, will fix if it clears up.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cha...ent_Profile.svg
Edit: Adding new data source slide, that I found later.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Hungry4info]

Update from ISRO on Chandrayaan 3.

Even closer to the moon’s surface. Chandrayaan-3's orbit is reduced to 174 km x 1437 km following a manuevre performed today. The next operation is scheduled for August 14, 2023, between 11:30 and 12:30 Hrs. IST

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1689192034916265984

[Ohsin]

Orbit circularisation phase commences. Precise maneuvre performed today has achieved a near-circular orbit of 150 km x 177 km. The next operation is planned for August 16, 2023, around 0830 Hrs. IST

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1690978432321269760

The mission is in the orbit circularisation phase. The spacecraft is in 151 km x 179 km orbit

https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan3.html

[nogal]

Today, Chandrayaan-3 successfully completed the lunar orbit lowering program.
It is now in a 153 km by 163 km orbit. The Lander Module is expected to separate from the Propulsion tomorrow, August 17.
Source: tweet (X) from ISRO - https://twitter.com/isro/status/1691655268449603770
See also the Wikipedia article, which was good information, including a table with the orbital maneuvers.

Fernando

[nogal]

New update from ISRO's twitter


Edit: Ah I see I'm late to this. Please delete. Sorry, Nogal, USFM staff.

Better twice than never!

[Hungry4info]

Update from ISRO on their twitter. Propulsion module has separated.

LM is successfully separated from the Propulsion Module (PM). LM is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit upon a deboosting planned for tomorrow around 1600 Hrs., IST.

[Ohsin]

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1692484515963588645

Chandrayaan-3 Mission: 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

Few videos from onboard cameras:

Chandrayaan-3 Mission: View from the Lander Imager (LI) Camera-1 on August 17, 2023 just after the separation of the Lander Module from the Propulsion Module

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1692476417093890282

Chandrayaan-3 Mission: Moon as captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) on August 15, 2023

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1692474762369626329

[Quetzalcoatl]

Bonjour,

https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan3.html

The Lander is in an orbit of 113 km x 157 km around the moon. A second setback is scheduled for 20 August 2023

[kenny]

Not the best photo of a spacecraft we have ever seen, but nevertheless interesting, I think.
View of the departing propulsion module in lunar orbit photographed by the lander.
In the original, you can see the faintly lit curved lunar horizon in the upper part of the image.

ISRO CAPTION:
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
View from the Lander Imager (LI) Camera-1
on August 17, 2023
just after the separation of the Lander Module from the Propulsion Module

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[nogal]

From X (formerly Twitter)

The second and final deboosting operation has successfully reduced the LM orbit to 25 km x 134 km.

The module would undergo internal checks and await the sun-rise at the designated landing site.

The powered descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 1745 Hrs. IST

Link: https://twitter.com/isro/status/1692995757413192015
Note: 17:45 IST is 12:15 UTC

Fernando

[Ohsin]

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1693181653273940240

Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, 2023, around 18:04 Hrs. IST.

18:04 IST being 12:34 UTC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLA_64yz8Ss

[Ohsin]

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/i...w/102915421.cms
Quote by Nilesh M Desai, Director of Space Applications Centre-ISRO

“On August 23, two hours before Chandrayaan-3 lands on the Moon, we will take a decision on whether or not it will be appropriate to land it at that time based on the health of the lander module and the conditions on the Moon. In case, if any factor appears to be not favourable, then we will land the module on the Moon on August 27. No problem should occur and we will be able to land the module on August 23,"

Edit:
Just to add. Attempt in September is also possible if 27 August is also no go.

Mr. Somanath said that if the landing does not take place as planned on August 23, then ISRO will wait for another month to make a landing attempt in September.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/c...cle67214558.ece
But keeping in mind landing site feature details are already stored on Lander, perhaps they'll try same sites again. It would be quite a big deal if they characterize and choose totally new sites and remotely reconfigure lander for it..

[Ohsin]

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1693879632481935555

Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing.
The Mission Operations Complex (MOX) is buzzed with energy & excitement!
The live telecast of the landing operations at MOX/ISTRAC begins at 17:20 Hrs. IST on August 23, 2023.
Here are the images of the moon captured by the Lander Position Detection Camera (LPDC) from an altitude of about 70 km, on August 19, 2023.
LPDC images assist the Lander Module in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard moon reference map.

Comments by Nilesh M Desai, Director, SAC here at 3 minute mark onwards suggests Rough Braking Phase will be with four engines ON as expected but during Fine Braking Phase and onwards only two engines will be kept ON.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HLB4GrE2do&t=182s

[nogal]

A Google Moon rendition of Chandrayaan-3 landing area

In order to follow the Chandrayaan-3 lunar surface mission I created a small KMZ suitable for the Google Earth (GE) desktop version. Google Earth also has "Google Moon" and, upon opening the file, you will be prompted to switch to the moon, if it is not already open.
The ground overlay images are based on the LROC image M1421908349LE, with all credits fully given.This is a large image (~70M) so it cannot be attached here, but it can be downloaded from the following link:

https
://drive.google.com/file/d/1CDiBZ5BDHh...usp=drive_link

The attached KMZ file contains a small cutout of just the landing area.

To install the attached file, download it to your hard drive. I suggest the creation of a dedicated directory to contain the file. Optionally, download and place in the same directory the image linked to above.

Double click on the KMZ to open it. Click on the features (GE's left panel) to see the comments, and double click them to "fly" to that location.

 Chandrayaan_3.kmz ( 156K ) Number of downloads: 61


I ask you to kindly let me know of any problems you may encounter. Thank you.
Fernando

[kenny]

Landing is expected around 12.34 GMT.

This seems to be one of the more informative live links (currently, anyway)

Chand-3 landing


ISRO official live link...

ISRO Chandrayaan 3 landing live

[Hungry4info]

Stream has started. Apparently there's live imagery from the lander.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Hungry4info]

Powered descent has begun.

[Hungry4info]

Live imagery from the lander.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Hungry4info]

As I write this, we're about 7 km in altitude.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Hungry4info]

Fine breaking phase! 0.45 km up.

[Explorer1]

Looks like a soft landing!

[nprev]

Congratulations to ISRO for what appears to be a successful landing!!!

My understanding is that the rover is slated to deploy in about four hours.

[PaulH51]

Looks like a soft landing!

Congratulations to everyone on the team.

[climber]

Congratulations to ISRO for what appears to be a successful landing!!!

My understanding is that the rover is slated to deploy in about four hours.

Do we know of first pictures scheduled ?

[Antdoghalo]

Congratulations to India for landing on the moon!

[Quetzalcoatl]

Formidable ! exceptionnel ! félicitations à l'ISRO.

[Huguet]

Congrats ISRO!!! Extremely emotional to follow your program, very deserved success....

[Hungry4info]

An image from the surface has been taken. We can see shadows of the lander structures.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[kenny]

At last! Fabulous... many congrats to India on becoming the 4th country to land.

[marsbug]

Well done ISRO!

[Hungry4info]

ISRO has provided this image which is marginally better in quality than what we've seen so far.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Marvin]

Why does the lunar surface near the lander look mottled? Is it compression artifacts or something else?

[Hungry4info]

Shan has figured out where on the Moon the final pre-landing image from the lander from the live-stream was taken.
LROC Quickmap link here.
Source tweet here.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Hungry4info]

Quickly stitched together the descent camera imagery, but without a clear idea of what the altitude / scale of the images are, it will be some time before I figure out where this is.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Hungry4info]

Video of rover deploying! (I think)
https://twitter.com/rocketgyan/status/1694383203895972327

Edit: ISRO finally shared an image.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Huguet]

Rover deploying, from inside mission control.

I believe they are rushing to take the selfies...

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[threadworm]

They've convenienly landed right in one of their OHRC images:

ch2_ohr_ncp_20211023T0027462822_d_img_d18

Here's that area from that image:

[Phil Stooke]

This looks like the actual landing site to me. Shan's image above was not the actual last image because there was a lag between the images on the control room screen and the altimeter readings.

These were the last three glimpses we got in the video coverage:



and this is the area they suggest to me:




Phil

PS - the coordinates from Quickmap (a bit uncertain because of small errors in image registration) are 69.371 S, 32.324 E, and it looks like it is only about 250 to 300 m from the target point).

[Hungry4info]

The rover's solar panel has been deployed.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Huguet]

Appears rover will finish it's deployment only tomorrow...

https://twitter.com/DrRichaTomar/status/1694403952413127067

[Phil Stooke]

My updated moon sites map.

EDIT: foolish mistake... attachment removed. I will repost corrected version below. Thanks to Hungry4info, and a reminder to all that I always welcome any corrections. Don't worry about hurting my feelings, I am too old to have any left.

Phil

[nogal]

Congratulations to ISRO and the whole Chandrayaan 3 team!

My thanks to all members posting information today. Using information from several posts I updated the KMZ file. Please see post #64 for information on how to use it.

 Chandrayaan_3_2023AUG23.kmz ( 1.59MB ) Number of downloads: 101

I adjusted the LROC image to GE's imagery, than adjusted the LROC cutouts to the LROC large image. It is not a perfect job, but it is difficult and time consuming.
You will notice the large distance (greater than 1km) between the announced intended location - as marked by GE - and the actual area as marked by Phil, which he estimates is 250m to 300m away. I had the same problem with Chang'e 4, more than 1km between the actual location and where GE shows a marker with the given coordinates. So please do not trust the coordinates measured on GE.

Fernando

[kymani76]

CH3 landing site, best effort. Two landing ellipses are shown, earlier (in orange) and final (white). Grid at 1 km from the landing site.

[kymani76]

Close up, grid at 100 m.

[Phil Stooke]

OK, repost of my previous map of all impact and landing sites, with an important correction.

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

ISRO says we have a deployed rover:

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1694545322251571687

"The Ch-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander and
India took a walk on the moon !

More updates soon."

Phil

[Ohsin]

https://twitter.com/sdhrthmp/status/1694549093455139294

Around 1:30am IST today, the rover started leaving #indian imprints on the talcum powder-like #lunar soil

That is about 7.5 hours after landing. For CY2 the timeline had this event scheduled at 3 hr 36 min after touchdown.

[antipode]

Congratulations to ISRO!

But...

If those landing coordinates are correct, that is quite a long
way from the pole. I thought that at 70 south any ice would be
well below the surface. What am I missing here?

P

[Phil Stooke]

It never was really a polar landing, despite many claims, but there is a possibility that ice (in minute quantities) may be present in the regolith, perhaps below a 'dry' zone.

Phil

[Quetzalcoatl]

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...st&id=53751

Quickly stitched together the descent camera imagery, but without a clear idea of what the altitude / scale of the images are, it will be some time before I figure out where this is.

Hello,

thanks to Hungry4info for this mosaic.

Does anyone now have any information on the altitude at which these images were taken?

I had fun making an estimate, saying more than ten km (32 800 feet), without being able to support my claim...