India’s third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, was launched today. It was released from the Satish Dhawan Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 2.35 p.m. Chandrayaan-3 will take more than a month and a half to reach the moon. The objective of Chandrayaan-3 is to make a soft landing on the south pole of the moon. In such a situation, do you know what is there on the South Pole that Chandrayaan-3 will find?
Chandrayaan-3 has been launched. It was launched at 2.35 p.m. from the Satish Dhawan Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Chandrayaan-3 is India’s third moon mission.
Like Chandrayaan-2, the objective of Chandrayaan-3 is also to make a soft landing on the south pole of the moon. South Pole, the place where no one has reached it to date. If Chandrayaan-3’s ‘Vikram’ lander makes a safe and soft landing there, then India will become the first country in the world to do so. Not only this, it will become the fourth country to land a lander on the lunar surface. So far, only America, Russia, and China have reached the surface of the moon.
In September 2019, ISRO tried to land Chandrayaan-2 on the south pole of the moon, but the lander had a hard landing. Taking lessons from past mistakes, many changes have also been made in Chandrayaan-3. Chandrayaan-3 will be launched today, but it will take a month and a half to reach the moon. It is estimated that on August 23 or 24, Chandrayaan-3 will land on the surface of the moon.
Not only India, but also the eyes of the world, including those of America and China, are on the south pole of the moon. A few years ago, China landed a lander some distance from the South Pole. Not only this, but America is also preparing to send astronauts to the South Pole next year.
Why the South Pole?
As the South Pole of the Earth is, so is the Moon. The South Pole of the Earth is in Antarctica. The coldest place on earth Such is the south pole of the moon. the coldest.
If an astronaut stands on the south pole of the Moon, he will see the Sun on the horizon line. It will be visible and shining from the surface of the moon.
Most of this area remains in the shade. Because the rays of the sun fall obliquely. Due to this, the temperature here is low.
First through Chandrayaan-2 and now through Chandrayaan-3, there is an attempt to reach the south pole of the moon. It is estimated that due to always being in the shade and the low temperature, there can be water and minerals here. This has also been confirmed by the earlier Moon mission.
What is it like at the South Pole?
In a report, the American space agency NASA said that on the basis of tests from orbiters, it can be said that there is ice on the south pole of the moon and that there can be other natural resources as well. Still, a lot of information has to be gathered about this part.
In 1998, a NASA Moon mission detected the presence of hydrogen at the South Pole. NASA says that the presence of hydrogen gives evidence of ice there.
According to NASA, there are big mountains and many pits (craters) on the south pole of the moon. There is very little sunlight here.
In the parts where sunlight comes, the temperature is up to 54 degrees Celsius. But in the parts where there is no sunlight, the temperature reaches minus 248 degrees Celsius. NASA claims that there are many craters that have been immersed in darkness for billions of years. The sun never shines here.
But this does not mean that the entire South Pole remains immersed in darkness. There are many areas of the South Pole where sunlight comes. For example, there are many places near Shackleton Crater that get sunlight 200 days a year.
Even if water or ice is found, what will happen to it?
The south pole of the moon is quite mysterious. The world is still unaware of this. A NASA scientist says that we know that there is ice on the South Pole and that there may be other natural resources as well. However, this is still an unknown world.
NASA says that since many of the craters at the South Pole have never been illuminated and most of them remain in shadow, there is a high possibility of ice there.
It is also estimated that the water accumulated here can be billions of years old. This will help in getting very important information about the solar system.
According to NASA, if water or ice is found, it will help us understand how water and other substances are moving in the solar system. For example, ice from Earth’s polar regions has revealed how our planet’s climate and atmosphere have evolved over thousands of years.
If water or ice is found, it can be used for drinking, cooling equipment, making rocket fuel, and research work.
How difficult is it to get there?
The South Pole of the Moon is a strange place. The biggest challenge here is the darkness. Here, whether it is to land a lander or any spacecraft, it is very difficult. Because there is no atmosphere on the moon like on Earth.
NASA also says that no matter how much advanced technology we use and how advanced the lander is, even then it is difficult to tell what the land at the South Pole looks like. And some systems can even get damaged due to rising and falling temperatures.
However, the world is trying to reach this part. NASA is preparing to send astronauts to the South Pole next year.
What is the purpose of Chandrayaan-3?
Chandrayaan-3 also has the same objective as Chandrayaan-2. That is, a soft landing on the south pole of the moon. The cost of ISRO’s third moon mission is said to be around Rs 615 crore.
According to ISRO, Chandrayaan-3 has three objectives. First, a safe and soft landing of the Vikram Lander on the lunar surface Second, To show the Pragyan Rover running on the surface of the moon. And third, to conduct scientific tests.
There will be three payloads with the Vikram Lander and two with the Pragyan Rover. We can also call payload as machine in easy language.
Even though the rover will come out of the lander, the two will be connected. Whatever information the rover gets, it will send it to the lander, and that information will go to ISRO.
The payloads of the lander and rover will study the lunar surface. They will detect water and minerals present on the surface of the moon. Not only this, but their job is also to find out whether earthquakes occur on the moon or not.
