A day before the landing on the moon is expected, the Indian Space Research Organisation confirms that the Chandrayaan-3 mission is right on schedule and smooth sailing is continuing.
ISRO posted an update on X where they said, "The mission is on schedule. Systems are undergoing regular checks. Smooth sailing is continuing."
They also mentioned that the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) which is located at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru is buzzing with energy and excitement.
Further, the space agency said the live telecast of the landing operations at MOX/ISTRAC begins at 5.20 pm on Wednesday, ahead of the scheduled touch-down of the lander with a rover in its belly near the south polar region around 6.04 pm.
The post also contains a series of images that the Lander Position Detection Camera captured of the moon from an altitude of about 70 km, on August 19, 2023.
What are LPDC images?
According to ISRO, "LPDC images assist the Lander Module in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard moon reference map."
What are the experts saying?
Former ISRO chairman K Sivan told PTI, "The objective of Chandrayaan-3 is to soft land in the southern polar region (of the Moon) and to carry out experiments there. The Chandrayaan-3 was configured with this objective, similar to Chandrayaan-2, except that the orbiter in Chandrayaan-2 is replaced by a propulsion module, otherwise it is almost the same."
Further, Sivan also said several modifications were incorporated in Chandrayaan-3 which were "based on the lessons we learnt from Chandrayaan-2".
Meanwhile, RC Kapoor, former Professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics told PTI, "This is a very challenging mission of ISRO. It contained so many stages - firstly, Chandrayaan-3 was put into the Earth's orbit, then it was sent to Moon transfer trajectory, then it reached the Moon's orbit, and now the lander and rover have reached the pre-landing orbit. All these stages have been completed accurately."
