Orbiter docking of Chandrayaan-2 with lander Vikram

 Orbiter docking of Chandrayaan-2 with lander Vikram

Orbiter docking of Chandrayaan-2 with lander Vikram(Image-Getty)

On the upcoming Wednesday, according to Indian time, Vikram will attempt to land on the lunar surface at exactly 6:04 PM. ISRO has announced that live coverage of Vikram's landing process will begin at 5:20 PM.

Vikram had already entered the moon's orbit. Successfully, Chandrayaan-3's lander Vikram has also been deployed after the successful deployment of the rover from Chandrayaan-3. In this situation, Chandrayaan-3 has established a connection with the satellite used in the failed Chandrayaan-2 mission four years ago. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) informed about this on Monday. ISRO tweeted, "Welcome, friends. Chandrayaan-2's orbiter has extended its best wishes to Chandrayaan-3's lander module. Bidirectional communication has been established."

Live coverage of the landing process for Vikram will start at 5:20 PM on Wednesday, as announced by ISRO.

In the event in 2019, the lander "Vikram" had failed to land on the moon's surface on September 6. The satellite sent during that mission is still orbiting the moon. So, for this mission, ISRO hasn't sent any satellite to the moon's orbit. Chandrayaan-2's orbiter, which is in the moon's orbit, will aid Chandrayaan-3's lander and the rover inside it. The rover will conduct research on the moon's surface for two weeks. ISRO mentioned that establishing a connection with Chandrayaan-2's orbiter in this scenario is an important step.

On the upcoming Wednesday, according to Indian time, Vikram will attempt to land on the lunar surface at exactly 6:04 PM. But where will the landing take place? Vikram needs a relatively smooth and soft landing site in the challenging terrain of the moon's southern hemisphere. Currently, ISRO is searching for such a safe spot. ISRO has shared several photos on Monday. Before setting down on the moon, Vikram is exploring the landing site while taking pictures with its Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LAC) in the middle of the lander. This special camera helps locate a safe place for landing on the moon's surface.

The lunar surface is dotted with rocks and small and large craters. Some steep slopes could pose a challenge. ISRO's primary goal is to identify a relatively clear space by removing stones or craters. Then Vikram will land there. On Tuesday evening, the rover Pragyan of Chandrayaan-3 will descend onto the moon's surface like a bird's eyelid (scientifically known as "soft landing"). This phase of the lunar mission is considered the most difficult. Four years ago, Chandrayaan-2 faced failure in this stage. However, ISRO claims that this time there is no possibility of a similar failure. Unless there's a major catastrophe, Vikram has already moved to land on the moon's surface. The entire nation awaits.

On July 22, 2019, Chandrayaan-2's lander Vikram had attempted to land between two craters named "Simpelius N" and "Manzinus C" near the moon's south pole (this time also the landing will take place in the southern Meru region). But it wasn't successful. Three minutes before the rover Pragyan inside Vikram could land, Vikram lost communication. For three months, NASA tried tirelessly to locate the remains of Vikram that crashed inside the moon's surface. However, they couldn't ascertain it in any way. In the end, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) shared a picture and asked the world for help. A mechanical engineer from Chennai identified the debris of Vikram's destruction by looking at that image.