Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram has “re-landed ” on Moon in an operation that was planned just 48 hours ago, MoS Space and Technology Jitendra Singh told News18. “This was planned only two days ago….no lander has ever taken-off from the Moon surface so this is path-breaking…the world is looking up to us,” Singh told News18 moments after ISRO confirmed the “hop”.
A tweet from ISRO’s X handle said, “????????Vikram soft-landed on ????, again! Vikram Lander exceeded its mission objectives. It successfully underwent a hop experiment. On command, it fired the engines, elevated itself by about 40 cm as expected and landed safely at a distance of 30-40 cm away.”
Explaining the importance of the experiment, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stated that the ‘kick-start’ enthuses future sample return and human missions.
Singh said the decision to experiment with the “hop” was taken to “maximise the moon landing”. “Team ISRO is trying to maximise the lander and rover capabilities of the Chandrayaan-3 mission,” he said. Pragyan has been put to sleep but Singh said it could come back to life and carry out more experiments once the Sun rises on Moon again.
ISRO said after “re-landing”, all systems are performing nominally and are healthy. The Ramp, ChaSTE and ILSA that were deployed also folded back and redeployed successfully after the experiment.
Aditya L1, Chandrayaan-3 Talking Points on Sidelines of G20
The minister said the twin success of Aditya L1 and Chandrayaan-3 and the cost at which these projects have been achieved could make India’s space forays a talking point on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. “You saw the kind of congratulatory messages that poured in for the Prime Minister at the BRICS when Chandrayaan landed. World media coverage was also very celebratory towards India. Now, Aditya L1 has made it…it could be a talking point amongst world leaders on the sidelines of G20 summit,” he said. He further said the fact Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya L1 have been made at a cost, which is less than that of many big budget films also has the world in awe.
When asked whether Aditya L1 launch gave some anxious moments to the ISRO team when the “eye on the satellite” was lost twice, Singh said it was expected. Eye on the satellite was lost twice during firing of Stage 4 once for 25 minutes and the second time for a couple of minutes.
The minister said the political leadership must be credited for creating the kind of atmosphere that has made the country a “pioneer” in the space sector today. “The human resource was always there. But today the way women are taking leadership positions, engineers from smaller centres are giving ISRO missions cutting edge… the political leadership must also be credited for creating the right environment.”
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