Indian Lunar Mission Is Going Strong, Preparing Its Approach for a Wednesday Soft Landing on the Moon’s South Pole
All eyes are on India now, as the Asian giant is less than 48 hours away of fulfilling a dream with Chandrayaan-3: becoming the fourth nation to ever soft-land a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, and more – becoming the first to do it in the mineral and ice-water rich south pole of the Earth’s satellite.
Chandrayaan is a Sanskrit word which can be translated as ‘Moon Vehicle’ or ‘Moon Craft’. And that’s what it is. After a deceleration maneuver, which the Indian space agency (ISRO) calls “de-boosting”, the craft will run internal checks, and wait for the sun to be shining at the chosen landing site. The descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 5:45pm IST (Indian Standard Time),
