ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission establishes communication with Chandrayaan-2 orbiter

Bengaluru: Days before the anticipated landing of Chandrayaan-3’s lander Vikram on the Moon’s surface, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced a significant development. The space agency revealed that it has successfully established a two-way communication link with the orbiter of Chandrayaan-2, called PRADAN. While Chandrayaan-2’s lander Vikram was lost during its landing attempt, the PRADAN orbiter has been circling the Moon in an orbit of 100 km x 100 km.

In a recent announcement on X (formerly Twitter), ISRO shared that the PRADAN orbiter extended a warm welcome to the new Chandrayaan-3 lander, officially referred to as “Ch-3 LM.” This connection allows for effective communication between the two spacecraft. ISRO humorously stated, “‘Welcome, buddy!’ Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM. Two-way communication between the two is established. MOX has now more routes to reach the LM,” referring to the methods of data transfer.

The upcoming lunar landing attempt by Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram has drawn attention, especially as it is targeting the far side of the Moon. Live coverage of the landing event is scheduled to commence at 5:20 pm on August 23, Wednesday.

Before its planned touchdown, the Vikram lander managed to capture images of various craters in the unexplored lunar south-pole region, which remains hidden from Earth’s view. These images, taken last Saturday, have been shared on ISRO’s social media platform. The craters identified in the images include Hayn, Boss L, Mare Humboldtianum, and Bel’kovich.

Former ISRO chief K Sivan, who led the Chandrayaan-2 mission, expressed confidence in the success of Chandrayaan-3. He stated, “It’s a very anxious moment…I’m sure that this time it will be a grand success.”

The landing event will be available for live viewing on multiple platforms, including the ISRO website, YouTube channel, Facebook, and the public broadcaster Doordarshan.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
‘Welcome, buddy!’
Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM.

Two-way communication between the two is established.

MOX has now more routes to reach the LM.

Update: Live telecast of Landing event begins at 17:20 Hrs. IST.#Chandrayaan_3 #Ch3

— ISRO (@isro) August 21, 2023