INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
BENGALURU: Chandrayaan-3 entered the last lap of its historic journey to Moon early Sunday with lander Vikram completing its second and
have Vikram descend with precision on a pre-decided site near the lunar south pole, four years after success eluded its predecessor
out.Cams to capture Pragyan's slide down to lunar surfaceIf all goes well with Chandrayaan-3's crucial landing manoeuvre on Wednesday, rover
Pragyan will slide down from Vikram - a move that will be captured by cameras on the lander - and begin to move on the lunar surface using
Pragyan is also equipped with cameras for obstacle avoidance."Once Sun sets, there will be no power for the lander and rover to function,
and all the equipment will stop working
However, our tests show that there are possibilities of the battery getting recharged upon the next Sunrise
If that happens, we could get another 14 days, or maybe even more," Isro chairman S Somanath said.What went wrong with Luna-25? Experts
explain Russian spacecraft crashPragyan's movement will be restricted to within the lander's observational area as Isro wants cameras on the
lander to be able to see the rover at all times.As of now, the movement is calibrated for 14 days, and Isro will map the distance it covers
In case the lifespan of the lander and rover gets extended, Pragyan will travel more
Chandrayaan-3 and Luna-25, which ended in failure on Sunday, were the first among at least 10 other lunar missions planned between now and
2025, with the US, Israel, China and Japan - including a joint mission with India - all eyeing the Moon.The US will launch its CLPS
(Commercial Lunar Payload Services), Trailblazer, VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) and Artemis-II, China has multiple
missions under the China's Lunar Exploration Programme, Israel is planning Beresheet-2 and Japan will launch Hakuto-II - III and SLIM (Smart
Lander for Investigating Moon) independently, and Lupex (Lunar Polar Exploration) jointly with India.These missions are part of a renewed
interest globally to return to Moon and efforts for a more sustained presence
Apart from these, the lunar orbit is already crowded, albeit low compared to Earth orbits, posing a challenge of collisions for all lunar
Explaining why Vikram's landing is planned on the day Sun rises on Moon, Isro chairman Somanath had said earlier: "We want the landing to
happen when Sun rises on Moon so we get 14-15 (Earth) days to work
If landing cannot happen on the first two days (Sun rise and the next day), we will wait for another month and land in
years fails as Luna-25 crashes into Lunar surface
