Chandrayaan-3 landing can be shifted to August 27 if anything goes wrong: ISRO scientist

Ahmedabad (Gujarat): India’s Vikram lander is just a few hours away from touching down on the lunar surface.

However, scientists are not dismissing the possibility of postponing the landing in case of any glitch at the last minute.

In an unfavourable condition, the landing can be shifted to August 27, the Space Applications Centre-ISRO Landing said on Monday.

Considering the smooth run of all parameters so far, landing is more likely to happen as scheduled on Wednesday evening.

However, Nilesh M Desai, director of Space Applications Centre-ISRO, Ahmedabad, said that landing could be based on the ‘health of lander module and the conditions on the Moon’.

‘On August 23, two hours before Chandrayaan-3 lands on the Moon, we will decide on whether or not it will be appropriate to land it at that time based on the health of the lander module and the conditions on the Moon’, Desai was quoted as saying.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath briefed the minister for Science and Technology, Atomic Energy and Space Jitendra Singh on the health of Chandrayaan-3 at this point.

S Somanath updated the minister that it is working perfectly with no contingencies in sight, adding that the apparatus will be continually monitored in the next two days.

Minister Jitendra Singh was reportedly optimistic about Chandrayaan-3 soft landing, scripting a new history in India’s planetary exploration.

The Chandrayaan-3 will land on the moon on August 23, 2023, around 18:04 hours IST, ISRO said.

Live broadcasting of the process will be available on ISRO website and social media including YouTube, Facebook, and DD National TV beginning at17:27 IST.

Successful landing will make India as the fourth country to achieve this feat alongside becoming the first to reach on the lunar South Pole.