National Space Day 2024: Date, Theme and Know All About ISRO Chandrayaan-3 Mission

National Space Day is a historic day for India as the country celebrates its amazing achievements in space exploration. Led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), National Space Day is the first time the country celebrates its growing prominence in the global space community. The day is not only a celebration of past successes, but also a time to inspire future generations, highlighting the importance of space science and technology in shaping our world.

— Indian Space Research Organisation (@isro) August 22, 2024

National Space Day 2024: Date

National Space Day 2024 is celebrated to recognize the key role space exploration has played in India’s scientific and technological advancement. The date was chosen to commemorate the success of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, which saw India become the fourth country in history to land on the Moon on August 23, 2023. Besides showcasing ISRO’s development capabilities, the achievement also sparked national pride in India and drew international attention to the country’s space program.

The Indian Space Research Organization mentioned that “On August 23, 2023, the Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully soft-landed the Vikram lander safely on the lunar surface. India thus became the fourth country to land on the moon and the first country to land near the south pole of the moon. After the soft landing, the Pragyan rover was successfully deployed. The landing site was named “Shiv Shakti” point (Statio Shiv Shakti) and August 23 was declared as “National Space Day”. India will celebrate its first National Space Day on August 23, 2024.”

National Space Day 2024: Theme

India’s National Space Day 2024 theme, “Touching Life, Touching the Moon,” celebrates the country’s incredible history of space exploration. From humble beginnings, India has emerged as a global leader in space technology, pushing the limits of human knowledge and creativity. The theme highlights how India’s space program has had a significant impact on the lives of its residents, not only in terms of scientific breakthroughs, but also in social development, economic prosperity, and international cooperation.

ISRO mentioned: India is celebrating its first National Space Day [NSpD-2024] The theme of India’s Space Day on August 23, 2024 is “Touching the Moon, Touching Lives: India’s Space Saga”. A series of events will be held to showcase India’s extraordinary achievements in space, the huge benefits it has brought to society, and the endless opportunities for all walks of life to participate in India’s space program.

National Space Day 2024: Know all about Chandrayaan-3

A trip to the moon

ISRO’s journey to the Moon began with the launch of Chandrayaan-1 in October 2008. The mission was a groundbreaking success as it was the first Indian mission to detect water molecules on the lunar surface.

NASA mentioned: “India’s Chandrayaan-1 played a crucial role in discovering water molecules on the Moon.”

Building on this success, the Indian Space Research Organization launched Chandrayaan-2 in July 2019, aiming to achieve a soft landing on the lunar south pole. Unfortunately, the lander, Vikram, lost contact during the final stage of its descent and crashed on the lunar surface. Despite the setback, Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter continues to study the moon and send back valuable data to Earth.

ISRO mentioned: “The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is currently in a 100 km x 100 km orbit around the Moon. On September 2, the Vikram lander separated from the orbiter and performed a deorbit maneuver to reduce the orbit to 35 km x 101 km.”

“Vikram attempted landing on September 7 and descended from a 35 km orbit to an altitude of about 2 km above the surface as per the planned descent trajectory. The lander lost communication with the ground station. Prior to this, all systems and sensors of the lander were functioning well and many new technologies such as variable thrust propulsion used in the lander were demonstrated. However, the orbiter was functioning well and all payloads were functioning normally,” It added.

Chandrayaan-3 is the follow-on mission that aims to achieve what Chandrayaan-2 failed to do: a successful landing on the Moon. According to ISRO: “Chandrayaan-3 is the follow-up mission to Chandrayaan-2 and is aimed at demonstrating the end-to-end capability of landing and roaming safely on the lunar surface. It consists of a lander and rover configuration. It will be launched by LVM3 from Sriharikota, SDSC SHAR.”

Objectives of Chandrayaan-3

The main objective of Chandrayaan-3 was to demonstrate ISRO’s capability to soft-land on the lunar surface, particularly near the lunar south pole. The mission aimed to achieve the following objectives:

  • Soft Landing: The primary objective is to land the Vikram lander safely on the lunar surface. This is a key step in demonstrating ISRO’s capabilities in controlled descent and landing technology, which is critical for future missions, including potential manned space missions.
  • Rover exploration: After the lander safely touches down, the Pragyan rover will be deployed. The rover is designed to traverse the lunar surface, study the composition of soil and rocks, analyze the lunar environment, and send valuable data back to Earth.
  • Science Exploration: Chandrayaan-3 will continue the scientific objectives of Chandrayaan-2, focusing on studying the lunar surface, seismic activity and exosphere. It aims to enhance our understanding of the lunar composition, geology and presence of water molecules.

Chandrayaan-3: Specifications

Chandrayaan-3 consists of three main components: a lander, a rover and a thruster module. Unlike Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 does not include an orbiter, as the orbiter from the previous mission is still operational and can relay communications.

ISRO mentioned: “Chandrayaan-3 consists of an indigenous lander module (LM), propulsion module (PM) and rover, and is designed to develop and demonstrate new technologies required for interplanetary missions. The lander will be able to soft-land at a designated lunar location and deploy the rover, which will conduct in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface as it moves. Both the lander and rover carry scientific payloads to conduct experiments on the lunar surface.”

Read | Chandrayaan-3: Launch today, know about payload and other specifications

National Space Day 2024 is an important day for India, celebrating the country’s remarkable achievements in space exploration and looking forward to a brighter future. The day recounts the journey from launching small satellites to planning for human spaceflight, a journey full of innovation, perseverance and commitment to advancing science and technology.

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