The moon landing is not too late. Chandrayaan-3’s lander Vikram, developed by the Indian space research agency ISRO, is now very close to the moon. Next Wednesday, the moon is scheduled to touch the ground at exactly 6:04 PM Indian time. But where will Vikram land? Bikram needs relatively smooth ground in the inaccessible cratered soil of the Moon’s south pole. ISRO is currently looking for a safe landing of Vikram. ISRO shared some images on Monday. Vikram is looking for a safe landing place before stepping on the moon. ISRO released the images taken by its camera. In a post on social media X (Twitter), ISRO wrote, ‘These are pictures of the far side of the moon. These images were taken by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC) on board Bikram. This special camera helps to find a safe place to land on the lunar surface. Stones are scattered on the land of the moon. There are also many small and big holes. High mounds can also become obstacles. ISRO’s primary goal is to pre-identify relatively empty spaces by avoiding rocks or potholes. Then Vikram will be brought down there. Chandrayaan-3’s lander Vikram will land on the lunar surface like a bird’s feather with rover Pragyan on Wednesday evening. This phase of the lunar mission is considered to be the most difficult. Chandrayaan-2 failed at this stage four years ago. However, ISRO claims that there is no such possibility this time. If there are no major obstacles, Vikram is going to land on the moon soon. The whole of India is looking at it. An ISRO official said that Chandrayaan-3’s lander Vikram has been designed in such a way that it will be able to land on the lunar surface on August 23 even if its two engines are shut down along with all the sensors. But its propulsion system must work properly. Otherwise, all the plans will fail. Chandrayaan-3 was successfully launched from the ‘launching pad’ of Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on July 14 at 2:35 PM. The Vikram lander is scheduled to touch down on the moon after 41 days of launch on Wednesday afternoon. If this mission is successful, India will become the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon after the United States, Russia and China.
Source: Anandabazar newspaper
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