[libranof1987]

Move over landing Vikram once, ISRO just did it again!

ISRO said that the lander fired the engines on command and elevated itself by about 40 cm as expected. It landed safely at a distance of 30 – 40 cm away, the Indian space agency said.

"This 'kick-start' enthuses future sample return and human missions!", ISRO said. It added that all systems performed nominally and are healthy. "Deployed Ramp, ChaSTE and ILSA were folded back and redeployed successfully after the experiment," it said.

https://www.cnbctv18.com/science/cha...d-17709961.htm

[Venkatesh]

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

Vikram Lander is set into sleep mode around 08:00 Hrs. IST today.

Prior to that, in-situ experiments by ChaSTE, RAMBHA-LP and ILSA payloads are performed at the new location. The data collected is received at the Earth.
Payloads are now switched off.
Lander receivers are kept ON.

Vikram will fall asleep next to Pragyan once the solar power is depleted and the battery is drained. Hoping for their awakening, around September 22, 2023.

Here are the images before and after the hop.





Link

[saisree]

Originally Posted by Gansan

^^ How come, isn't one lunar day equal to fourteen earth days? Still two more days to go before nightfall?

This if from the Project Director of Chandrayaan 3- Veeramuthuvel

“We landed on the second day (of sunlight on the moon). There are 14 days of sunlight but we cannot fully utilise these 14 days because we had to have a sun elevation angle of six degrees. So, we cannot go till the 14th day and we will be planning to issue the sleep command sometime tomorrow (Sunday),” Veeramuthuvel said.

[Venkatesh]

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

Anaglyph is a simple visualization of the object or terrain in three dimensions from stereo or multi-view images.

The Anaglyph presented here is created using NavCam Stereo Images, which consist of both a left and right image captured onboard the Pragyan Rover.

In this 3-channel image, the left image is positioned in the red channel, while the right image is placed in the blue and green channels (creating cyan). The difference in perspective between these two images results in the stereo effect, which gives the visual impression of three dimensions.

Red & Cyan glasses are recommended for viewing in 3D

NavCam was developed by LEOS / ISRO. Data Processing is carried out by SAC / ISRO



Link

[ads11]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Move over landing Vikram once, ISRO just did it again!
https://www.cnbctv18.com/science/cha...d-17709961.htm

Really cool that they were able to successfully pull off this additional test. More so really reassuring to see that they'd thought of it too - makes total sense when you think about it. Given the many layers of redundancy in mission planning, makes me wonder what other tests they might have planned if they can get the rover to wake up after the lunar night.

Sample retrieval would be fantastic but I wonder if there'll be typically Indian bureaucratic roadblocks to accessing those samples (I know from experience trying to get data can be like getting blood from a stone). Meanwhile a former undergrad I remember teaching was able to work with actual Apollo mission lunar samples for her PhD (granted many decades later but nowhere near as difficult to access them). It'll be great to know that ISRO bucks the trend and allows the wider scientific community to get a look at the samples (though I accept the in house staff get first dibs). I'd be curious to know if anyone here has experience in this regard when it comes to ISRO and what they're like with data?

[varunswnt]

Just curious as to whether Pragyan's camera could have captured Blue Earth from the moon's surface. The photo would have been amazing and legendary.

Nothing to diminish the success of Chandrayaan 3 or cast doubt on anything.

[ninjatalli]

Isro says no signal yet from Moon lander

They spent two weeks gathering data and images, after which they were put into 'sleep mode' at lunar nightfall.

Isro hoped the batteries would recharge and the modules would reawaken when the Sun rose around 22 September.

But it is possible that the extreme cold of the lunar night damaged the batteries.

On Friday, Isro posted on X (formerly Twitter) that "efforts to establish communication with the Vikram lander and Pragyaan rover will continue".

While putting them to sleep, Isro said both had completed all their assignments, but expressed the hope that they would reawaken at the start of the next lunar day.

But former Isro chief AS Kiran Kumar told the BBC that it was not a given, since night temperatures near the lunar south pole routinely plunge to -200C to -250C (-328F to -418F) and the batteries are not designed to operate or be stored at such extreme temperatures.

Source: BBC

[dailydriver]

DID WE/DID WE NOT?

It took a while coming.

In a claim so typical and expected of our friendly neighbor, a Chinese scientist has asserted that India's Chandrayan didn't really land in Moon's South Pole!

Ouyang Ziyuan, lauded as the father of China’s lunar exploration program, told the Chinese-language Science Times newspaper that the Chandrayaan-3 landing site, at 69 degrees south latitude, was nowhere close to the pole, defined as between 88.5 and 90 degrees.

On Earth, 69 degrees south would be within the Antarctic Circle, but the lunar version of the circle is much closer to the pole.

“It’s wrong!” he said of claims for an Indian polar landing. “The landing site of Chandrayaan-3 is not at the lunar south pole, not in the lunar south pole region, nor is it near the lunar south pole region.”

The Chandrayaan-3 was 619 kilometers (385 miles) distant from the polar region, Ouyang said.

(Emphases mine)

The TIME magazine report recalls two previous landings near South Pole:

China’s Chang’e 4, the first to land on the far side of the moon in 2019, touched down 45 degrees south. An uncrewed NASA probe, Surveyor 7, reached the moon at about 41 degrees south in 1968.

and explains why that specific part of lunar surface is of importance.

Getting close to the lunar south pole is important not just for bragging rights. Scientists think the region may have ice reserves that could potentially be valuable for long-term stays.

PS: These technical nitpickings could be valid; but they would/should in no way dampen our sense of achievement in going where no one else has gone.

[libranof1987]

The Propulsion Module of Chandrayaan-3 has been moved to Earth's orbit, from the Moon's orbit.

In another unique experiment, like the hop experiment on the Vikram Lander, the Propulsion Module (PM) of Chandrayaan-3 was moved from an orbit around Moon to an orbit around Earth.

It was decided to use the available fuel in the PM to derive additional information for future lunar missions and demonstrate the mission operation strategies for a sample return mission.

https://www.isro.gov.in/Ch3_Propulsi...rth_orbit.html

[Jeroen]

In another unique experiment, like the hop experiment on the Vikram Lander, the Propulsion Module (PM) of Chandrayaan-3 was moved from an orbit around Moon to an orbit around Earth

Not sure I understand what is unique here? All Apollo flight plans had the capsule return from a moon to an earth orbit. Usually a very short earth orbit, but still.

Jeroen

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Not sure I understand what is unique here?

Unique from ISRO's capability demonstration perspective. All these manoeuvres are presumably serving as tests for ISRO's future manned missions. And others where the mission is to get the module back to Earth after it has landed on a space object (eg. the Moon).

So far, all of ISRO's missions have been one-way. They haven't got anything back to Earth. (in my knowledge)

[PreludeSH]

NASA's lunar modules contain both descent and ascent propulsion systems. For Chandrayaan, I am not sure if they used the descent propulsion system to hop too. Online, you can find high level design of complete lunar modules and their parts, fuel tank arrangement, solenoids, valves etc.
ISRO has to spend big and implement things without fear of failure.

[mygodbole]

IMHO, this is a huge capability demonstration.

Most space missions calculate precise fuel needs. If the propulsion module had enough fuel for the trip back to earth orbit after fulfilling its original mission goals, it demonstrates the fail-safe measures used by ISRO really worked.

I think of it like a car being pushed out of the garage (with precise fuel for a one-way trip), 'empty' shopping bags in the back seat, car driven to the mall, shopping bags taken out and into the mall, car is driven back (without the shopping bags) to the gate outside the garage.

The car in this instance would be the propulsion module and the shopping bags would be the Vikram lander.

Vikram reached the moon and the 'hop' was a last minute addition to the overall mission. That demonstrated (1) fuel conservation and (2) precision in lifting off. The landing at the end of the hop reiterated the capabilities and strength of the material and equipment used in Vikram.

Vikram showcased its capabilities with the hop (more fuel for a 'return' to the propulsion module will be ISRO's next challenge).

The return-to-earth-orbit of the propulsion module demonstrates that the spacecraft is capable of a round trip to moon orbit from earth.

All these will help in the eventual manned mission to the moon.

We have a 'car' capable of a round trip, 'shopping bags' that can get to the mall/moon and back to the 'car'. ISRO scientists and techies will be now looking at how to push the car back into the garage safely since it took the LVM3 to push Chandrayaan 3 into space.

I have complete confidence in the capabilities of ISRO to overcome these challenges in ways that may confound and astound all of us.

[libranof1987]

Off-topic for this thread, but a worthy tidbit nevertheless.

Today marks 40 years to the day, the first Indian: Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, flew to space!

The Indian Air Force has posted a tribute to him on social media.

https://x.com/IAF_MCC/status/1775344027229151520?s=20

Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s space odyssey began on April 3, 1984, as he boarded the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. His journey lasted 7 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes, making India the 14th nation to venture into outer space.

Upon reaching the Salyut 7 Orbital Station, Sharma, along with the Soviet crew members, conducted various scientific studies and experiments. His tasks ranged from remote sensing to bio-medicine, showcasing India’s capabilities in space research. The crew even engaged in a conference with space officials during their time aboard.

https://www.newsx.com/national/iaf-p...space-journey/

(PS: while he remains the only Indian national to date to have flown to space, four people of Indian origin have been to space: Kalpana Chawla, Sunita Williams, Raja Chari and Sirisha Bandla).