Today, August 23, 2023 will be a significant day in the annals of India’s space mission programme. Chandrayan-3 is expected to land on the Moon at 5.47 pm on Wednesday timed to coincide with sunrise at the moon's South Polar Region when the lander will touch down on lunar surface. Upon landing, the Chandrayaan-3 mission will reportedly operate for one lunar day, equivalent to 14 earth days during which it will conduct groundbreaking experiments. These experiments are designed to provide scientists with a better understanding of the moon's atmosphere and mineral composition. It may be recalled that India's third lunar mission was successfully launched on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Chandrayaan-3 includes a lander module named 'Vikram' and a rover named 'Pragyan'. It is a major milestone for the country that has run its ambitious aerospace programme on a comparatively low budget. India’s space programme has grown considerably in size and momentum since it first sent a probe to orbit the moon in 2008. In 2014, it became the first Asian nation to put a satellite into orbit around Mars.
