ISRO Chief S Somanath: Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander Will Persist Despite All Odds

ISRO’s Chairman, S Somanath, announced that the lander of India’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, named Vikram, possesses the capability to achieve a soft landing on the Moon’s surface on August 23. Even if some sensors and two engines fail, Vikram’s design is engineered to manage these failures. Somanath made this revelation during a talk on ‘Chandrayaan-3: Bharat’s Pride Space Mission,’ hosted by the non-profit organization Disha Bharat.

According to Somanath, Vikram’s design ensures resilience against potential failures, with the exception that the propulsion system functions effectively. He shared that Chandrayaan-3 was launched into space on July 14 and successfully entered lunar orbit on August 5. To prepare for the lunar landing, three de-orbiting maneuvers are scheduled for August 9, August 14, and August 16, reducing the orbit to 100 km x 100 km from the Moon’s surface. This will be followed by a lander propulsion module separation exercise and eventually, the landing on August 23.

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Somanath emphasized that Vikram’s design accommodates contingencies, even if two of its engines malfunction. He mentioned that meticulous design and algorithmic accuracy contribute to this capability. Addressing the challenge of transitioning Vikram from a horizontal to a vertical orientation for landing, Somanath highlighted the importance of this maneuver, drawing attention to the past mission’s failure in this aspect. He underscored the significance of correct fuel consumption, accurate distance calculations, and algorithmic precision, while noting that provisions have been made to account for calculation variations this time around.

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