When the Vikram lander collided with the Moon’s surface in September 2019, the Chandrayaan-2 mission was declared a failure. A similar outcome befell the Israeli-led Beresheet mission earlier that year. Years later, in April of this year, the Japanese Hakuto-R mission similarly failed to make a soft landing on the moon. And these are just a few of the numerous missions that tried and failed to reach the Moon. The United States and the Soviet Union crashed spacecraft after spacecraft during the space race in the 1960s before successfully landing one. With the Chang’e-5 mission in 2013, China became the only other nation to successfully perform a soft landing on the Moon.

But why is Luna still such a challenging goal after all these years of space travel? Let’s investigate that.

How to reach the Moon

You will need to find out a way to travel there before you can even consider landing on the Moon. The distance between the Moon and Earth is typically 3,84,400 km, however it can vary greatly depending on the spacecraft’s course. On this long, lengthy journey, anything can go wrong.

And it holds true even for missions that only aim to orbit the Moon. Due to a propulsion system malfunction, NASA was forced to end the Lunar Flashlight mission before it could enter the lunar orbit.

On the Moon, a lull

The Earth’s dense atmosphere provides enough friction for spacecraft returning to our planet, like NASA’s Orion following the Artemis 1 mission, to slow down before safely touching down. However, due to its relatively thin atmosphere, spacecraft landing on the Moon do not enjoy that privilege.

How to navigate the Moon

It goes without saying that the Moon lacks GPS. Because there are no satellites on the Moon, spacecraft cannot rely on one to precisely land at a specific point. This means that in order to arrive on the Moon precisely, onboard computers will need to make speedy calculations and judgements.

According to a paper in the journal Nature, things get particularly tricky when a spaceship approaches the vital final few km. The computers on board will then need to autonomously respond to unforeseen problems fast. For instance, the significant amount of dust the propulsion systems generate may fool sensors.

Additionally read the latest ISRO India Chandrayaan 3 mission updates: Success of the first orbit-raising manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-3

According to Chandrayaan-3, the first orbit-raising manoeuvre was successfully carried out.

‘Chandrayaan-3’ is launched by ISRO’s Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3) M4 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Observe this space Future Chinese rocket Chandrayaan-3, and a historic week ISRO Live telecast of the Chandrayaan 3 launch:Launch of Chandrayaan 3 Live streaming of Chandrayaan 3’s premiere: How to view the launch in real time on the internet

The uneven surface of the Moon, which is covered in craters and debris, makes this more challenging. Both landings might be disastrous for the expedition.

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At about 2:30 p.m. local time (5:00 a.m. ET), the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh state, launched Chandrayaan, which means “moon vehicle” in Sanskrit.

More than a million people watched the historic launch live on YouTube, and crowds flocked at the space centre to witness it.

A tweet from ISRO late on Friday night revealed that Chandrayaan-3 is in “precise orbit” and has “begun its journey to the moon.”

The spaceship, it was noted, is in “normal” condition.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi replied on Twitter, saying, “Chandrayaan-3 scripts a new chapter in India’s space odyssey.” It reaches great heights, lifting every Indian’s hopes and aspirations. Our scientists’ unwavering commitment is on full display in this historic breakthrough. I applaud their initiative and creativity.
On August 23, the spacecraft will make a soft landing on the moon.

After a failed attempt in 2019 with the Chandrayaan-2, this is India’s second attempt at a gentle landing. In 2008, India successfully orbited the moon with its first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, before crashing it onto the moon’s surface.

Chandrayaan-3 is a lander, propulsion module, and rover developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Its goal is to land on the moon without incident and undertake a battery of scientific tests to better understand the body of the satellite.

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The United States, Russia, and China are the only other countries to have successfully soft-landed a spacecraft on the moon’s surface.

Best wishes to the @isro for #Chandrayaan3, a remarkable mission pushing the boundaries of space exploration!

Let's celebrate the strides in science, innovation, and human curiosity that have brought us this far. May this mission inspire us all to dream bigger and reach for… pic.twitter.com/63sJwonVcz

— Nitin Gadkari (मोदी का परिवार) (@nitin_gadkari) July 14, 2023

Indian engineers have spent years preparing for the launch. They hope to touch down Chandrayaan-3 near the difficult terrain of the moon’s uncharted South Pole.

Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the Moon, found molecules of water on the lunar surface. Chandrayaan-2 made it into lunar orbit 11 years later, but the rover it carried crashed to the lunar surface. The mission’s stated objective included a trip to the lunar south pole.

Despite the mission’s failure, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the engineers involved and vowed to continue developing India’s space programme.

A few hours before launch on Friday, Modi declared that the date “will always be etched in golden letters as far as India’s space sector is concerned.”

Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission takes off from Sriharikota,Andhra Pradesh.

🚀LVM3 Launch Vehicle Mk III takes the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft to Geo Transfer Orbit (GTO).

🌝#Chandrayaan3 consists of an indigenous propulsion module, lander module, and a rover… pic.twitter.com/pbhxmZO0Eq

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) July 14, 2023

Through this extraordinary endeavour, our nation’s hopes and dreams will be carried,” he tweeted.

Since then, India has poured over $75 million into the Chandrayaan-3 project.

Modi has stated that the rocket will travel more than 300,000 kilometres (186,411 miles) to reach the moon in the “coming weeks.”

Decades in the making

India has been working on its space programme for over sixty years, back when it was a poor, newly founded republic.

Even though it sent its first rocket into orbit in 1963, the country was already well behind the ambitious United States and the defunct Soviet Union in the space race.

India now has the largest population and the sixth largest economy in the world. It’s home to a rising hub of innovation and technology and has a rapidly expanding young population.

As a result, Modi has had to play catch-up with India’s space programme.

The leader came to office in 2014 on a platform of nationalism and India’s greatness in the future, and he sees the success of India’s space programme as a representation of his promise to bring India to the forefront of world affairs.

With the launch of the Mangalyaan probe in 2014, India became the first Asian country to reach Mars, spending only $74 million compared to the $100 million that Hollywood poured into the production of the space thriller “Gravity.”

India set a new record by launching 104 satellites in a single operation three years later.

Modi claimed in a rare public address in 2019 that India has conducted an anti-satellite test by shooting down one of its own satellites.

In the same year, former ISRO chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan announced that India would build its own space station by 2030. The International Space Station (a multi-national effort) and China’s Tiangong Space Station are the only two space stations that can host expedition crews at this time.

India’s space technology industry has been booming thanks to the country’s rapid expansion and innovation, and governments around the world have taken notice.

The White House reported last month that during Modi’s state visit to the United States, he met with Vice President Joe Biden, and the two discussed expanding their cooperation in the space industry.

The moon and Mars are just the beginning for India’s space programme. A plan to launch an orbiter to Venus has also been mooted by ISRO.

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