Chandrayaan-3 : Why is landing on the moon's south pole important ?
Chandrayaan-3, India's lunar mission, is on track to become the fourth country in history to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon. This mission takes on an even more difficult task by trying a landing on the moon's South Pole, a place known for its difficult terrain and extremely frigid temperatures, according to FirstPost.
The Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, launched Chandrayaan-3 on July 14. If all goes as planned, the spacecraft will land on the moon's surface on August 23.Significant integration: On July 5, ISRO completed a critical milestone by integrating the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft with the powerful Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3). This accomplishment is even more impressive given that the LVM3 is the largest rocket ever built in India.
Exploration continues:
Chandrayaan-3 is a direct sequel to Chandrayaan-2, with the primary goal of demonstrating end-to-end capabilities in secure lunar landings and rover operations. The mission's primary goal is to examine the moon's surface, particularly places that have been exposed to sunlight for billions of years.
Goal:
Lunar South Pole-One of the most notable aspects of Chandrayaan-3 is its planned landing near the moon's South Pole.
A global first:
Among numerous moon landings, Chandrayaan-3 distinguishes out as the first mission to target a landing on the moon's South Pole, as opposed to earlier landings centered on the lunar equator, according to FirstPost.
Unexplored territory
Until recently, all prior lunar landings had occurred in the equatorial zone, a few degrees north or south of the lunar equator. According to Indian Express, the farthest venture from the equator was made by NASA's Surveyor 7, which landed on the moon on January 10, 1968. This historic spaceship was discovered at the 40-degree south latitude. In April 2019, Israel attempted but failed to land a rocket on the South Pole. In 2019, China's Chang'e 4 spacecraft became the first to arrive on the moon's far side, at the 45-degree latitude.
Improvements for success:
Learning from previous experiences, ISRO has made significant progress to resolve the complexities posed by the lunar South Pole. Notable advancements include changes to software and hardware, particularly lander thrusters. ISRO has also improved soft-landing sequences, changed the lander's layout to four thruster engines rather than five, strengthened landing legs, extended solar panels, and boosted fuel capacity. These improvements are intended to ensure the mission's resounding success this time.
Global enigma:
The ambitious mission of Chandrayaan-3 fits up with the international trend of exploring the moon's South Pole. Another notable endeavor focused on this region is NASA's Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2025.
Geological observations:
The lunar South Pole, nestled within the vast South Pole-Aitken basin, a huge crater, contains a plethora of geological knowledge. It may contain components from the moon's deep crust and upper mantle, providing insights into the moon's geological evolution.
Water ice has been identified near both poles of the Moon, according to Girish Linganna, a space and aerospace expert. According to The Week, because the South Pole has greater land under permanent shadow and colder temperatures, it is expected to have more water ice. "This makes the South Pole a geologically interesting location because material from the Moon's deep crust and upper mantle may be present on or near the surface." "The South Pole is also a more promising location for ice exploration than the North Pole," he told The Week.
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