Built at a cost of nearly ₹600 crore by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), Chandrayaan 3 was launched at 2.35pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre using a Launch Vehicle Mark-3, formerly known as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-III. The craft carried a rover (Pragyan) and a lander (Vikram) that will aim to become the first to land on the south pole of the moon, which has generated tremendous scientific interest in recent years due to the presence of water ice.
“We are expecting it (Chandrayaan-3) to enter into lunar orbit by August 1 and two-three weeks from then, separation of the propulsion module and lander module will happen on August 17. The final descent is currently planned for August 23, at 5.47pm. That is the plan if it goes as per the schedule,” said Isro chief S Somanath.
