Indian Lunar Mission Is Going Strong, Preparing Its Approach for a Wednesday Soft Landing on the Moon’s South Pole

All eyes are on India now, as the Asian giant is less than 48 hours away of fulfilling a dream with Chandrayaan-3: becoming the fourth nation to ever soft-land a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, and more – becoming the first to do it in the mineral and ice-water rich south pole of the Earth’s satellite.

Chandrayaan is a Sanskrit word which can be translated as ‘Moon Vehicle’ or ‘Moon Craft’. And that’s what it is. After a deceleration maneuver, which the Indian space agency (ISRO) calls “de-boosting”, the craft will run internal checks, and wait for the sun to be shining at the chosen landing site. The descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 5:45pm IST (Indian Standard Time), 7:45am ET.

Hindustan Times reported:

“The second and final adjustment to Chandrayaan-3’s lunar lander has been successfully carried out and the space craft is now in a smaller orbit, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said in a statement on Sunday, and added that the touchdown will be at 6.04pm on August 23.

The announcement came hours before Russia confirmed it had lost its Luna-25 lander after it attempted its own orbital adjustment on Saturday, leaving India at the cusp of history — if Chandrayaan’s lander Vikram makes it to the surface as planned, it will be the first time any country’s mission has reached the south polar region.”

WATCH: Chandrayaan-3 take off:

Read more about the Indian Space Mission below:

Over the Moon: Indian PM Narendra Modi Celebrates ‘Fall of Bastille’ With France’s Macron, While Chandrayaan-3 Mission Takes off for Lunar Landing That Can Establish India as a Major Space Power

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

🇮🇳Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon 🌖on August 23, 2023, around 18:04 Hrs. IST.

Thanks for the wishes and positivity!

Let’s continue experiencing the journey together
as the action unfolds LIVE at:
ISRO Website https://t.co/osrHMk7MZL
YouTube… pic.twitter.com/zyu1sdVpoE

— ISRO (@isro) August 20, 2023

A soft landing on the moon will turn India into the fourth nation to land a man-made craft on the surface of the moon after the United States, the Soviet Union, and China.

“After the announcement of Russia’s crash landing, India’s science and technology and space minister Jitendra Singh too said that there was no rivalry between Indian and Russian space programs.

‘Russia has been a traditional friend so no animosity, no sense of rivalry between the two teams. There is a natural bond. The first Indian who went to [space] — Rakesh Sharma — was on a Russian rocket. So, we already have a close collaboration with Russia’, he said, addressing the media.”

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

View from the Lander Imager (LI) Camera-1
on August 17, 2023
just after the separation of the Lander Module from the Propulsion Module #Chandrayaan_3 #Ch3 pic.twitter.com/abPIyEn1Ad

— ISRO (@isro) August 18, 2023

In India, all eyes are turned to the skies, both literally and metaphorically, as the deeply religious Hindus take to their temples to pray for a successful outcome for the mission.

ETV Bharat reported:

“Shirdi (Maharashtra): The devotees offered prayers at the well-known shrine of Sai Baba here for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, India’s mission to the Moon.

Hundreds of devotees gathered in front of Saibaba’s Darkamai and worshiped [in front of] a replica of Chandrayaan 3.

They also sang a devotional song – ‘Shirdi Maze Pandharpur’ and offered prayers for the success of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO’s) mission. The devotees of Sai Baba also raised slogans like ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ inside the premises of the shrine. Former Shirdi Sababa Sansthan Trust director Sachin Tambe said that everyone prayed for the success of the important mission.”