The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully confirmed the module’s separation from the Chandrayaan-3 mission, six days ahead of the scheduled moon landing, which is expected to occur between August 23 and 24. According to ISRO, the launch stage will continue its journey in the current orbit for a period of months or even years as part of a project to study exoplanets, those located outside our solar system, with the aim of investigating their habitable potential for humans.
Despite having a relatively modest budget for its aerospace program compared to other nations, India is advancing rapidly on its path to space, following the example of other space powers. If this mission is successful, the world’s most populous country would join a select group of nations that have managed to make a controlled landing on the Moon, along with Russia, the United States, and China.
Recall that the previous attempt at the Chandrayaan program, four years ago, ended in failure after ground teams lost communication with the spacecraft just before it landed on the Moon. In this context, Chandrayaan-3 incorporates a lunar landing module named Vikram (which means “brave” in Sanskrit) and a mobile rover called Pragyan (which translates to “wisdom” in Sanskrit), destined to explore the lunar surface.
It is important to highlight that this mission has a cost of 74.6 million dollars, which is significantly lower compared to the amounts invested in similar programs in other countries. India’s track record in the space field shows remarkable progress and outstanding innovation capacity, even with more limited financial resources.