‘Chand Si Mehbooba Ho Meri’, ‘Chaand Jaise Mukhde Pe Bindiya Sitara’, ‘Chaand Chupa Baadal Mei’, these and many more such songs in honour of the Moon have become evergreen Bollywood hits. These songs compare the face of one’s lover to the moon artistically, an attempt that has been made several times in the last several years. Moon has inspired many poets, artists, writers and so on and has been the subject of countless artworks. Although the moon has been a symbol of beauty for decades, the world realised that in reality it’s a planet with a similar surface like Earth, when American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first ever person to walk on the Moon in 1969. The world was taken aback by this discovery and that was just the beginning of a race to reach for the Moon.
Countries such as Russia, India and China launched their own lunar missions one after the other. However, America, Russia and China are the only countries who have successfully landed on the Earth’s elusive and only natural satellite. Hopefully, India will become just the fourth country to add its name in the elite company. India launched Chandrayaan-3 on July 14, which will soft-land on the Moon on August 23 at 6:04 pm IST. This moment will be written in golden letters not just in the country’s history but in the world’s history. If Chandrayaan-3 is successful, India will become the first and only country to land on the lunar south pole; a matter of great pride for all the Indians.
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The budget of the respective lunar mission is Rs 615 crore which is lesser even than some of the big budget Bollywood movies. So far the lander module’s journey has been smooth and as per ISRO, the spacecraft is hovering in Moon’s orbit close to the Moon. Chandrayaan-3 is now merely 25 kms away from the Moon and after blasting off at thousands of kilometers per hour speed, the spacecraft is now hovering at a very slow pace. The slow pace is crucial for the soft-landing and the precautions have been taken based on previous lunar expeditions. Chandrayaan-3’s predecessor had lost contact when it was just 15 kms from the Moon and had crashed during the landing. The control over the speed of the spacecraft is extremely vital if it is to soft-land on the Moon and the astrophysicists have taken the required care. Therefore, despite Chandrayaan-3 being only 25kms far from the Moon, it will take nearly three days to land on the Moon. The decided date and timing for landing is August 23, at 6:04 pm. There is a reason to choose this particular date as day starts from August 23 onwards on the Moon which means there will be abundance of sunlight on the moon. If the spacecraft had landed now in the dark then it would not have achieved the desired results. There will be sunlight on the Moon for 14 days straight which will make Chandrayaan-3’s scheduled work way more convenient. Indeed, it is not an easy task. Consisting of a lander named Vikram and rover named Pragyan, the ambitious mission is expected to make a number of scientific discoveries. Once Vikram soft-lands on the Moon, the rover Pragyan will step onto the lunar surface. The rover has important tasks such as studying the lunar surface, presence of water ice in the lunar soil, the history of lunar impacts and the evolution of the Moon’s atmosphere. The spacecraft has sent several photographs and videotapes of the Moon’s surface from a distance which proves that it does not have a flat surface. Infact, the lunar surface is riddled with potholes. However, these photographs are captured from far off distance and the picture will be clear when the lander lands on the Moon. The information gathered from here will be new for the entire world as no one has discovered this part of the Moon till now. This underlines how momentous this lunar mission is for India. India and our country’s space agency ISRO’s reputation will take a huge leap in the space industry, as the knowledge accumulated during this mission will benefit the entire world. Other countries can execute their lunar missions from Indian land as well, which would generate tremendous revenue. Now, all eyes are set on August 23, 6:04 pm.
