Introduction – ISRO is also called as National Space Day and is celebrated every year on August 23 in India to honor the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 mission through the Vikram Lander on the surface of the moon in the year 2023. After this historical moment or achievement, the Indian Government officially chose August 23 to celebrate National Space Day or ISRO Day to appreciate the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) scripted history by landing India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully on the surface of the moon at the timing of 6:04 pm on August 23 in the year 2023 with great achievement.

India celebrates its second ISRO Day or National Space Day to honor the successful landing of the Vikram Lander on the surface of the moon from the Chandrayaan-3 mission. The Chandrayaan-3 mission was a follow-up of the previous Chandrayaan-2 mission and may be expected or aimed to demonstrate or validate the capability for landing safely and roaming on the surface of the moon. After this great achievement, India becomes the 4th country in the world to land successfully a rover on the surface of the moon and the first to do so in the southern polar region.

Chandrayaan-3 – It is the third lunar or moon mission of India which was conducted by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The distance between Earth and Moon is about 384,000 km and the spacecraft has been effectively located in the trajectory so it will take to reach the surface of the moon.  Chandrayaan-3 contains a rover called as Pragyan and a lander known as Vikram. The main work of a rover is to carry out several scientific experiments on the surface of the moon and the main work of a lander is to soft landing on the lunar’s surface. The propulsion module in the Chandrayaan-3 is to carry the lander and rover configurations until the spacecraft is in a 100 km lunar orbit. Previously Chandrayaan-3 entered the lunar orbit on August 5, 2023.

Components of Chandrayaan-3 – There are three main components of Chandrayaan-3 are discussed below –

1. Lander – The main work of a lander in spacecraft is to soft landing on the surface of the moon. Lander is box-shaped with landing legs and landing thrusters of 800 newtons each and will be responsible for carrying the rover and several scientific instruments to perform in-site examination or analysis. The lander in Chandrayaan-3 is called as Vikram Lander which will have four throttle-able engines with thrust valve slew rate changing abilities. The lander of Chandrayaan-3 is equipped with an LDV (Laser Doppler Velocimeter). Is used to measure attitude in 3 directions.
2. Propulsion module – The main work of the propulsion module is to carry the lander and rover configurations to a 100 km lunar orbit. The propulsion module is a box-like structure that contains one large solar panel which is mounted on one side and a big cylinder on top which acts as a mounting structure for the lander.
3. Rover – It is also known as a planetary rover, is a terrestrial or planetary surface examination device that is designed for moving across the solid surface of a planet and several other planetary mass heavenly bodies. The rover of Chandrayaan-3 is called as Pragyan and works is to carry out several scientific experiments on the surface of the moon.

Objectives of Chandrayaan-3 – There are three main objectives for the Chandrayaan-3 that are set by the Indian Space Research Organization are given below –

1. The first objective is to demonstrate a soft and safe landing on the surface of the moon.
2. The second objective is to demonstrate the operations of the rover on the surface of the moon.
3. The final or third objective is to conduct in-situ-scientific experiments on the surface of the lunar to learn more about the composition of the moon.