CHANDRAYAAN - 3 (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Sci & Tech)

Context: Chandrayaan-3 landed on the lunar surface at the Moon's South Pole.

• India has now become the first nation to land near the South Pole, which is a hot new destination since traces of water were found on the moon.
• India has become the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the moon. Before India, Russia, the United States of America and China have achieved this remarkable feat.

Key Points

• Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 and its objectives are to demonstrate safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
• The objectives of Chandrayaan-3 mission are safe and soft landing on the lunar surface. 
• The rover will collect data on the composition and geology of the moon, which will help scientists learn more about the history and evolution of our nearest celestial neighbour.
• In addition to its primary goal of landing a spacecraft on the moon, Chandrayaan-3 will also conduct scientific experiments to study the moon's environment, including its history, geology, and potential for resources.
• Instead of a success-based design in Chandrayaan-2, the space agency opted for a failure-based design in Chandrayaan-3, focused on what all can fail and how to protect it and ensure a successful landing.
• Chandrayaan-3's design philosophy is that it should land even if everything goes wrong.