Chandrayaan 3.0 takes off
ISRO launches Rs600-cr lunar mission project keeping an eye on future inter-planetary missions
image for illustrative purpose
Sriharikota India on Friday launched its ambitious third Lunar mission Chandrayaan-3, eyeing a rare feat in Moon exploration so far only accomplished by the likes of the US, China and the former Soviet Union.
Indian Space Research Organisation’s third lunar expedition in 15 years, the hugely anticipated Chandrayaan-3 embarked on its month-long journey towards the moon, piggybacking ISRO’s latest heavy lift launch vehicle, ‘Fat boy’ LVM3-M4 from the spaceport here. The soft landing of the payload, the most challenging part of the mission, is planned for late August. Chandrayaan-2 could not achieve this objective when communication with the Lander ‘Vikram’ was lost. As the 25:30 hour countdown concluded, the LVM3-M4 rocket (formerly GSLVMkIII) also dubbed as ‘Fat boy’ for its heavylift capability, soared off majestically from the spaceport at the prefixed time of 2:35 pm from the second launch pad, leaving a trail of thick orange smoke.
Thousands of spectators who had assembled here to watch the launch since morning broke into loud cheers and applauded as the launch vehicle soared into clear skies.
