Chandrayaan-3 was launched on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and the lander touched down in the lunar south pole region on 23 August 2023 at 12:32 UTC, making INDIA the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon, and the first to do so near the lunar south pole. Congratulating the ISRO team behind the successful Chandrayaan-3 Moon Mission at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bengaluru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the touchdown point of the Vikram lander would henceforth be known as the ‘Shiva Shakthi Point'. He further declared August 23, the day the Vikram lander descended on the moon, as 'National Space Day'.
On 22 July 2019,ISRO launched Chandrayaan-2 and the lander ultimately crashed when it lost contact with earth (ISRO) and deviated from its intended trajectory while attempting to land near the lunar south pole. The crash point is named as "Tiranga" and the crash point in Chandrayaan-1 is named as Jawahar Point.
The lunar South Pole region holds particular interest for scientific exploration due to studies that show large amounts of ice there. Mountainous terrain and unpredictable lighting conditions not only protect the ice from melting, but also make landing scientific probes there a challenging undertaking. This ice could contain solid-state compounds that would normally melt under warmer conditions elsewhere on the Moon, compounds which could provide insight into lunar, Earth, and Solar System history. Ice could also be used as a source of drinking water and hydrogen for fuel and oxygen for future manned missions and outposts.
Thank you Harish for the beautiful postcard with wonderful cancellation.
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