{"id":1179,"date":"2025-11-10T09:36:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T09:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/?p=1179"},"modified":"2025-11-12T05:42:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T05:42:38","slug":"chandrayaan-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Chandrayaan 3: Mission Overview, Objectives, Mission profile, Previous Chandrayaan Missions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. It consists of Lander and Rover configuration. It has been launched by Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (SDSC SHAR). This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the Chandrayaan 3 and its mission objectives, mission profile, previous Chandrayaan missions &amp; conclusion.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_56_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Mission_Overview\" title=\"Mission Overview\">Mission Overview<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Mission_Objectives_of_Chandrayaan_3\" title=\"Mission Objectives of Chandrayaan 3\">Mission Objectives of Chandrayaan 3<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Objectives_of_Payloads_Chandrayaan_3\" title=\"Objectives of Payloads: Chandrayaan 3\">Objectives of Payloads: Chandrayaan 3<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Elements_of_Chandrayaan_3\" title=\"Elements of Chandrayaan 3\">Elements of Chandrayaan 3<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Mission_Profile_of_Chandrayaan_3\" title=\"Mission Profile of Chandrayaan 3\">Mission Profile of Chandrayaan 3<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Chandrayaan_Missions_of_India\" title=\"Chandrayaan Missions of India\">Chandrayaan Missions of India<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#FAQs\" title=\"FAQs\">FAQs<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Is_Chandrayaan_3_launched_in_India\" title=\"Is Chandrayaan 3 launched in India?\">Is Chandrayaan 3 launched in India?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Is_Chandrayaan-1_still_working\" title=\"Is Chandrayaan-1 still working?\">Is Chandrayaan-1 still working?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Has_India_landed_on_the_Moon\" title=\"Has India landed on the Moon?\">Has India landed on the Moon?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#Which_country_successfully_landed_on_the_Moon\" title=\"Which country successfully landed on the Moon?\">Which country successfully landed on the Moon?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/chandrayaan-3\/#How_many_days_will_it_take_Chandrayaan_3_to_reach_the_Moon\" title=\"How many days will it take Chandrayaan 3 to reach the Moon?\u00a0\">How many days will it take Chandrayaan 3 to reach the Moon?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mission_Overview\"><\/span><strong>Mission Overview<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The propulsion module carried the lander and rover configuration till 100 km lunar orbit. The propulsion module has Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth<strong> (SHAPE) <\/strong>payload to study the spectral and Polari metric measurements of Earth from the lunar orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lander payloads<\/strong>: Chandra\u2019s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (<strong>ChaSTE<\/strong>) to measure the thermal conductivity and temperature, Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (<strong>ILSA<\/strong>) for measuring the seismicity around the landing site, Langmuir Probe (<strong>LP<\/strong>) to estimate the plasma density and its variations. A passive Laser Retroreflector Array(<strong>LRA<\/strong>) from NASA is accommodated for lunar laser ranging studies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rover payloads<\/strong>: Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (<strong>APXS<\/strong>) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (<strong>LIBS<\/strong>) for deriving the elemental composition in the vicinity of landing site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Chandrayaan-3 consists of an indigenous <strong>Lander <\/strong>module(LM), <strong>Propulsion <\/strong>module(PM) and a <strong>Rover <\/strong>with an objective of developing and demonstrating new technologies required for Inter planetary missions. The Lander is equipped with the capability to soft land at a specified lunar site and deploy the Rover which will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility. The Lander and the Rover have scientific payloads to carry out experiments on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The main function of the Propulsion module(PM) is to carry the Lander module(LM) from launch vehicle injection till the final lunar 100 km circular polar orbit and separate the LM from PM. Apart from this, the Propulsion Module also had one scientific payload as a value addition which operated post separation of the Lander Module.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mission_Objectives_of_Chandrayaan_3\"><\/span><strong>Mission Objectives of Chandrayaan 3<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The following are the objectives behind Chandrayaan 3 mission:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To demonstrate Safe and <strong>Soft Landing<\/strong> on Lunar Surface<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To demonstrate <strong>Rover roving on the moon<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To conduct <strong>in-situ <\/strong>scientific experiments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To achieve the mission objectives, several advanced technologies are present in Lander which are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Altimeters:<\/strong> Laser &amp; RF based Altimeters<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Velocimeters:<\/strong> Laser Doppler Velocimeter &amp; Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inertial Measurement: <\/strong>Laser Gyro based Inertial referencing and Accelerometer package<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Propulsion System: <\/strong>800N Throttleable Liquid Engines, 58N attitude thrusters &amp; Throttleable Engine Control Electronics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Navigation, Guidance &amp; Control (NGC): <\/strong>Powered Descent Trajectory design and associate software elements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hazard Detection and Avoidance:<\/strong> Lander Hazard Detection &amp; Avoidance Camera and Processing Algorithm<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Landing Leg Mechanism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d46e83fcffb9b99be203fab9c124a825\" style=\"color:#015aa7\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Objectives_of_Payloads_Chandrayaan_3\"><\/span><strong>Objectives of Payloads: Chandrayaan 3<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The objectives of scientific payloads planned on Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module and Rover are provided below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><thead><tr><th><strong>Lander Payloads<\/strong><\/th><th>Objectives<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA)<\/td><td>To measure the near surface plasma (ions and electrons) density and its changes with time<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Chandra\u2019s Surface Thermo physical Experiment (ChaSTE)<\/td><td>To carry out the measurements of thermal properties of lunar surface near polar region.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA)<\/td><td>To measure seismicity around the landing site and delineating the structure of the lunar crust and mantle.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>LASER Retroreflector Array (LRA)<\/td><td>It is a passive experiment to understand the dynamics of Moon system.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Elements_of_Chandrayaan_3\"><\/span>Elements of Chandrayaan 3<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"612\" height=\"414\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/blog\/uploads\/2024\/10\/elements-of-chandrayaan-3.png\" alt=\"elements of chandrayaan 3\" class=\"wp-image-22843\" style=\"width:612px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/blog\/uploads\/2024\/10\/elements-of-chandrayaan-3.png 612w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/blog\/uploads\/2024\/10\/elements-of-chandrayaan-3-381x258.png 381w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/blog\/uploads\/2024\/10\/elements-of-chandrayaan-3-150x101.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mission_Profile_of_Chandrayaan_3\"><\/span><strong>Mission Profile of Chandrayaan 3<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"468\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/blog\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mission-profile-of-chandrayaan-3.png\" alt=\"mission profile of chandrayaan 3\" class=\"wp-image-22844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/blog\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mission-profile-of-chandrayaan-3.png 468w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/blog\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mission-profile-of-chandrayaan-3-280x258.png 280w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/blog\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mission-profile-of-chandrayaan-3-150x138.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Chandrayaan_Missions_of_India\"><\/span><strong>Chandrayaan Missions of India<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Chandrayaan missions are specifically designed for lunar exploration. Below are the information about Chandrayaan 1 and chandrayaan 2 missions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Chandrayaan-1<\/strong>: It was launched in 2008. The mission aimed to create a detailed three-dimensional atlas of the <strong>Moon\u2019s near and far sides<\/strong> while conducting <strong>chemical and mineralogical mapping<\/strong> with high resolution. It made significant discoveries, such as <strong>detection of water and hydroxyl on the lunar surface<\/strong> and confirming the presence of ice in the North Polar region.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chandrayaan-2<\/strong>: The mission was launched in 2019. It consisted of an <strong>Orbiter, Lander and Rover<\/strong>. Although the lander and rover experienced partial success due to the crash on the lunar surface, the Orbiter successfully <strong>collected valuable data<\/strong>, including the <strong>discovery of water <\/strong>signatures across all latitudes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chandrayaan-3: <\/strong>The main objective of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current-affairs\/20-02-2023\/chandrayaan-3\/\">Chandrayaan 3<\/a> is to demonstrate India\u2019s technical capabilities and achieve a successful soft landing on the moon. This landing requires precise control to bring the spacecraft from high speeds to a gentle touchdown without human intervention. The scientific payloads carried by the lander and rover are similar to those of the previous mission, focusing on studying lunar quakes, thermal properties, plasma changes near the surface and accurately measuring the Earth-moon distance.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Chandrayaan 3 mission showcased both technological and strategic achievement in terms of lunar exploration. Its successful soft-landing in the south polar region provided crucial information on the composition and thermophysical properties of the lunar side of the moon. This achievement demonstrated both India\u2019s robotic exploration capabilities and also established a foundational base for understanding sustained lunar scientific inquiry for the betterment of mankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-315f905aca00c2fa53a8becd4e55b004\" style=\"color:#015aa7\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQs\"><\/span><strong>FAQs<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1690887984271\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h4 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Chandrayaan_3_launched_in_India\"><\/span><strong>Is Chandrayaan 3 launched in India?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Chandrayaan 3 is launched by India. The launch is carried out using the LVM3 vehicle from Sriharikota.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1690888023085\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h4 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Chandrayaan-1_still_working\"><\/span><strong>Is Chandrayaan-1 still working?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Chandrayaan-1, India&#8217;s first lunar mission, operated successfully until August 2009, after which communication was lost. It is no longer working.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1690888039346\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h4 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Has_India_landed_on_the_Moon\"><\/span><strong>Has India landed on the Moon?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes, India had landed a spacecraft on the Moon as of August 2023.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1690888055006\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h4 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_country_successfully_landed_on_the_Moon\"><\/span><strong>Which country successfully landed on the Moon?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>The countries that have successfully landed spacecraft on the Moon are the United States (through the Apollo missions), the Soviet Union (Luna program) and China (Chang&#8217;e program).<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1762597270699\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h4 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_many_days_will_it_take_Chandrayaan_3_to_reach_the_Moon\"><\/span><strong>How many days will it take Chandrayaan 3 to reach the Moon?\u00a0<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>The journey of the lander to the moon is expected to take approximately 42 days.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chandrayaan 3 is a continuation of the Chandrayaan mission, aiming to demonstrate the complete capability of safe landing and exploration on the lunar surface. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-1179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-and-technology","tag-gs-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1179"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22914,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions\/22914"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}