Chandrayaan-3: Isro scripts stellar comeback after a 4-year hiatus

Four years after then chairman K Sivan wept on live television following the crash of Chandrayaan-2, the Indian Space Research Organisation on Wednesday made one of the greatest comebacks in human space history, soft-landing Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar south pole successfully in the immediate next attempt.

While the tears that rolled down Sivan’s cheek and the embrace he received from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on that fateful day saddened 1.4 billion Indians, Sivan’s successor S Somanath, gave them unforgettable joy when he stood up from his seat, clapped and announced to the world: “India is on the Moon”.

In between hundreds of scientists and engineers scoured loads of data to identify the mistake and did everything to ensure failure doesn’t happen.

“In Chandrayaan-2, the craft’s ability to handle parameter variations or dispersions was limited. This time, we expanded those scopes further and looked at everything that could go wrong. Instead of doing a success-based design, we went for a failure-based design in Chandrayaan-3. We examined what can fail and how to protect them,” Somanath told journalists in Delhi last month.

Flawless descent

The strategy worked as the craft descended flawlessly on the lunar surface.

“It’s sweet news for the entire nation. The data will be for scientists all over the world,” said Sivan, who watched the touchdown live along with Somanath and others.

“What sets the success of Chandrayaan-3 apart is that we have become the first nation to land on the far side of the Moon, demonstrating our prowess in space engineering, ability to innovate and scientific rigour,” said Somak Raychaudhury, Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University and former director of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune.

Scientists are of the opinion that Chandrayaan-3 will be the stepping stone for India’s ambitious space exploration programmes. “The measurements it will carry out will help design the follow-up missions,” said Yashwant Gupta, director of National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune.

“The mission will unravel the mysteries of the moon giving insights into our own planet’s history, help us prepare for our first human landing, and pave the way for future habitation. With the New Space Policy, upcoming missions such as Aditya-L1, Gaganyaan and future missions to Mars and beyond, we are preparing for the hitherto unexplored frontiers of space,” Raychaudhury added.