All’s well, we’re confident: Isro chief Somanath

As the control rooms at ISRO are filled with a mix of nervous anticipation and excitement, engineers and scientists meticulously review every aspect of the mission plan and validate calculations. ISRO Chairman S Somanath radiates a sense of assurance, expressing his confidence in a triumphant soft landing scheduled for August 23rd.

Taking time out ahead of the crucial landing day, Somanath told TOI that the confidence stems from all the preparations ahead of the launch and the hitch-free progress made by the integrated module and the landing module in their journey to Moon.

“We are confident as everything has been all fine so far. There have been no contingencies faced until this juncture. We’ve done all the preparations and all systems have performed as we needed them to until this stage. Now, we are preparing for the landing with multiple simulations, verification and double verification of systems. Checking of instruments’ health is being done today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday),” Somanath told TOI.

That Isro’s landing comes close on the heels of Russia losing Luna-25 and in the backdrop of its own attempt not succeeding the previous time adds to the tension, even as the world will be closely watching Vikram. After all, between 2019 and 2023, three of the four Moon landing missions have failed. Barring China’s Chang’e 5, all others — Israel’s Beresheet, Japan’s Hakuto-R, India’s Chandrayaan-2 and now Russia’s Luna-25 attempted in this time period — failed to land.

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Vikram Linked With CH-2 Orbiter: Somanath

He additionally affirmed that the pivotal process of connecting the landing module with the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. It has been circling the Moon since 2019, has been successfully finalized. “The testing and validation for the integration of the lander with the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter have been concluded,” he stated.

Isro later elaborated that this has established a two-way communication between the lander and Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. It has allowed the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at the Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) in Bengaluru “more routes to reach the landing module”.

Chandrayaan-3 comprises a lander housing a rover within it. It will disembark onto the lunar surface after landing, along with a propulsion module. The communication setup is as follows: The propulsion module exclusively communicates with the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN). The lander establishes communication with both IDSN and the rover, and is also linked with the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter for communication. The rover is specifically designed to communicate solely with the lander.

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