ISRO’s TRAILBLAZING VOYAGE TO THE MOON

The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was setup by Prime Minister Nehru in 1962 on the suggestion of Dr Vikram Sarabhai. Initially it functioned under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). An indigenous series of sounding rockets named Rohini was developed and started undergoing launches from 1967. The INCOSPAR was superseded by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 1972, ISRO, the national space agency of India was brought under the Department of Space (DOS), directly overseen by the Prime Minister and the Chairman of ISRO acts as the executive of DOS. India joined the Soviet Interkosmos programme for space co-operation and got its first satellite Aryabhatta, built by ISRO, in orbit through a Soviet Rocket in 1975. Bhaskara 1 and Bhaskara 2, built by ISRO, were launched by the Soviet Union in 1979 and 1981 respectively. It took India seven years to develop the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) and it successfully launched the Rohini Series 1 satellite in 1980 making India, the seventh country to reach earth’s orbit. There was a time in ISRO’s history when scientists used a bicycle and bullock cart carrying parts of the rocket for assembly. ISRO has repeatedly proved its calibre, ever since its foundation over five decades ago for big ticket missions beyond low earth orbit and to Moon, Mars, Venus and even the Sun, humanity’s next frontiers. ISRO might not have an overwhelmingly large budget like NASA or the European Space Agency (ESA), but it has delivered significant results despite operating on a shoestring budget right from the beginning.

    Chandrayaan (Indian Lunar Mission Program) is a multiple mission programme. Prime Minister Vajpayee announced the Chandrayaan project in his Independence Day speech on 15th August 2003. The mission was a major boost to India’s space programme. A team of eminent scientists and engineers was constituted to work on the project. Chandrayaan 1, the first Lunar Probe under this programme, was launched by ISRO in October 2008 and operated until August 2009. The mission included an Orbiter and an MIP (Moon Impact Probe). The spacecraft was launched using PSLV-XL (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This mission was a great achievement of India’s space programme, as India researched and developed indigenous technology to explore Moon. On 14th Nov 2008, the Moon Impact Probe separated from the Orbiter and struck the south pole near the crater Shackleton. The location of impact was named as the Jawahar Point. It was intended to survey the Lunar surface for two years, but after about a year it stopped communicating and the mission was over. However, the mission achieved most of its scientific objectives including detecting presence of Lunar water.

  The lunar south pole is the southernmost part of the Moon. It has water ice in permanently shadowed areas and unique craters, not receiving sunlight, cold traps containing fossil records of hydrogen, water ice and other materials dating to the early solar system. In contrast, the lunar north pole region exhibits lower quality of similar craters.

  Chandrayaan 2 was the second lunar exploration mission developed by ISRO consisting of a lunar orbiter, Vikram (named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, Vikram also symbolises courage) lander and Pragyan (a symbol of wisdom) rover. Its objective was to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition as well as the location and abundance of lunar water. It was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 22nd July 2019 by LVM3-M1 (Launch Vehicle Mark3). The craft reached the lunar orbit on 20th August 2019 and began orbiting positioning manoeuvres for landing of Vikram lander. However, the lander crashed when it deviated from its intended trajectory while attempting to land on 6th September 2019. According to the failure analysis, the crash was caused by a ‘software glitch.’ Prime Minister Modi was in Bangalore to witness the landing. He hugged and consoled the ISRO Chief K Shivan who broke down after the crashlanding. PM appreciated the efforts of the scientists and encouraged them to pursue their journey. The point of crash landing has been named as the Tiranga Point.

 After the failure of Chandrayaan 2, ISRO began preparations for the next mission Chandrayaan 3 with the experience of the previous crashlanding. One of it's three main components is Vikram Lander, responsible for soft landing on moon. It is box shaped with four legs, carrying the rover and various scientific instruments to perform onsite analysis. The second component is Pragyan Rover, a six wheeled vehicle to take multiple measurements to support research into the composition of the lunar surface, the presence of water ice in the soil, the history of lunar impacts and the evolution of moon’s atmosphere. And the third one is the propulsion module to carry the lander and rover to a hundred km lunar orbit. Chandrayaan 3 was launched by LVM3-M4 rocket on 14th July 2023, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. After a series of earth-bound manoeuvres, the spacecraft was placed into the moon’s orbit on 5th August 2023. On 17th August, the Vikram Lander separated from the propulsion module to begin the last phase of the mission. On 23rd August, as the lander approached the low point of its orbit, its four engines fired as breaking manoeuvres at 30 km above the moon’s surface. After a few minutes, it rotated from horizontal to vertical position while continuing to descend and finally it touched down at 6.03 pm.

  This historic moment of achievement was witnessed by all the Indians and the world community. PM Modi joined from South Africa. He appreciated  Team ISRO for the success of the mission and congratulated all the members for making it possible. ISRO etched its name in history by making India the world’s fourth country to reach the moon and the first country to soft land on the lunar south pole, which is considered to be extremely complex and difficult by space agencies across the world. He announced that the touch down point of the lander would henceforth be known as Shiv Shakti Point. He further declared August 23 as the National Space Day. The estimated cost of the project is about $75 million, much less than similar projects by other countries. There are many women scientists in this team, headed by ISRO Chairman S Somnath. Companies like Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Paras Space and Defence Technologies, MTAR Technologies, etc manufactured components for the project. NASA also helped ISRO in this mission.

The accomplishment of this mission will benefit not only India but also the world, as we all will have better understanding of the universe along with the earth and the moon. The success of the mission holds immense promise for India’s economy, technology sector and global standing in space exploration. Beyond national pride, we will be in a new era of economic growth, job creation and technological innovations. By showcasing India’s capabilities and commitment to pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, the mission will inspire future generations and cement our country’s position in the ever-evolving space exploration.

Kudos to Team ISRO for this monumental achievement and best wishes for its future missions, including Aditya L1, Gaganyaan, Shukrayaan and Mangalyaan.

By  Manoj Dubey
Retd. Principal, Delhi Public Schools

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