Chandrayaan-3 will be launched in July 2023: ISRO Chief

New Delhi: Chandrayaan-3 will be launched in July 2023, said S Somanath, the chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This ambitious spacecraft aims to land on the south pole of the moon. Chandrayaan-3 mission carries scientific instruments to study the thermo-physical properties of the lunar regolith, lunar seismicity, lunar surface plasma environment and elemental composition in the vicinity of the landing site.

According to sources, Chandrayaan-3 mission is scheduled in July second week. In March this year, Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully completed the essential tests that validated its capability to withstand the harsh vibration and acoustic environment that the spacecraft would face during its launch.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft would be launched by LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-III) from Sriharikota. Chandrayaan-3 is a composite of three modules- propulsion, lander and rover.

The Lander would have the capability to soft land at a specified lunar site and deploy the Rover which would carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility.

The main function of the propulsion module is to carry the lander module from launch vehicle injection till final lunar 100 km circular polar orbit and separate it.