Chandrayaan3 Mission - Space the final Frontier

    Chandrayaan3 Mission - Space the final Frontier

    F5 months ago 272

    AIAI Summary

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    Key Insights

    Chandrayaan3 Mission
    1/14
    Scientific Motivation for Indian Lunar Exploration
• Airless body à All the 
wavelengths 
unhindered (since no 
thick atmosphere)
• No Global Magnetic 
Fieldà Exposed directly 
to the solar wind (H+, 
He++, other ions PLUS 
electrons)
Picture courtesy: T J Stubbs
Domains for Study:
Elemental composition, 
mineralogy, geology; 
Exosphere studies; 
Particle environment
    2/14
    q HYSI
q TMC
q LLRI
qHEX
qMIP
q C1xS
q SARA
q M3
q Mini-SAR
Indian European-Indian
United States
q SIR-2
qRADOM
European
Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC)
Terrain Mapping Camera – 2 (TMC-2)
Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray 
Spectrometer (CLASS)
Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM)
Imaging Infra-Red Spectrometer (IIRS)
Dual frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar 
(DFSAR)
Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition 
Explorer – 2 (CHACE-2)
Dual Frequency Radio Science Experiment 
(DFRS)
Chandrayaan-1 (2008) Chandrayaan-2 (2019) Chandrayaan-3 (2023)
“Chemical, mineralogical, geologic mapping of the Moon”
“Ground truth of the surface and 
near-surface properties at the 
landing site”
India’s Lunar Science Programme: Scientific Rationale
Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) 
Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound 
Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere 
(RAMBHA) – Langmuir Probe (RAMBHA-LP)
Chandra’s Surface Thermo-physical 
Experiment (ChaSTE)
Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)
Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope 
(LIBS)
Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet 
Earth (SHAPE)
    3/14
    From Chandrayaan-1 to Chandrayaan-2
Ch-1 payloads Specifications Ch-2 payloads Improved Specifications Enhanced science
HySI
SIR-2 
M3
32 spectral bands 
0.93 - 2.4 micron
0.7 – 3.0 micron
IIRS 256 spectral bands, 0.8 to 
5.0 micron;
Res. 0.020-0.025 micron
Unambiguous detection of OH, water and 
water-ice signatures.
Mini-SAR S-band, circular 
polarimetry
DFSAR L and S band Greater depth of penetration (~5-10m i.e 
twice that of S-band); circular and fullpolarimetry
ChACE-1 on MIP 1-100 amu; short 
duration
CHACE-2 1-300 amu; continuous Global dynamics of exospheric species
C1XS 0.5 – 10 keV CLASS 0.8 – 15 keV, ~ 3 times 
larger area, 12.5 km 
resolution
High resolution elemental maps, minor 
elements detection, geotail studies 
SXM 1–20 keV; 250 eV at 6 
keV
XSM 1 – 15 keV; ~180 eV @5.89 
keV
Better resolution and high cadence
TMC-1 Panchromatic TMC-2 + OHRC Miniaturised version & HiresMass reduction & high-res imaging
RO Experiment Single freq – S band DFRS Dual freq.- S and X bands Vertical profiling of ionosphere, electron 
density measurements, mitigation of 
scintillation effects
    4/14
    From Chandrayaan-2 (global) to Chandrayaan-3 (in-situ)
RAMBHA-LP
(measurement of the near-surface plasma)
APXS and LIBS
(Elemental Composition of the surface)
CHASTE
(Thermophysical properties of the regolith)
ILSA
(Moon-quakes, ground acceleration)
DFRS
(RO experiment)
CLASS + XSM
(Surface elemental composition)
CHACE-2
(Exospheric neutral Composition)
DF-SAR & IIRS
(Subsurface hydration, surface roughness, 
surface hydration)
Complementary obs.
Ground truth on elemental 
composition
Internal release
Neutral-to-plasma 
connection
Local in-situ observations, plus looking for any variations of properties in the vicinity of the landing site 
Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Payloads Chandrayaan-3 Lander and Rover Payloads
    5/14
    Improvements in Chandrayaan-3 Lander
Sensors
Propulsion 
System
Improvements 
in NGC
Re-work on 
touchdown 
limits
Software Hardware 
Redundancy
Exhaustive 
Simulations & 
Ground Tests
Improved 
Mission Plan
Improvements in 
Propulsion Module
Based on the lessons learnt from Chandrayaan-2 Lander
    6/14
    Choice of the Landing Site of Chandrayaan-3
Scientific 
Technological 
1. Higher latitudes are relatively unexplored
2. Unique condition – Sun shines at grazing angle 
à lesser deposition of energy, solar wind ions 
and electrons
3. Scientifically interesting Topography
1. Conditions on global slope
2. Conditions on the sizes of boulders and crates
3. Shadow analysis; power generation
4. Communication with Earth
69.3 S, 32.3 E
    7/14
    The Journey of Chandrayaan-3
July 14, 2023, at 14:35 Hrs. IST from the 
Second Launch Pad, SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota
    8/14
    The Journey of Chandrayaan-3 (contd.)
Orbits are not 
up to the scale
    9/14
    Landing Sequence of Chandrayaan-3
    10/14
    23 August, 2023, Wednesday, 18:04 IST
Achieved soft landing on the Moon 
India:
The 1st country to have soft-landed in higher lunar latitude
The 4h country to have soft-landed on the Moon
69.3 S, 32.3 E
ShivShakti Point
    11/14
    Chandrayaan-3 Mission Update
Vikram Lander on Lunar Surface: 
Picture taken by the Pragyan Rover
Total distance travelled by Pragyan: ~ 101 m
Original Mission Objectives
• To soft-land the lunar lander-rover module on the pre-determined landing site 
at the Southern higher latitudes of the Moon
• Demonstration of the rover movement on the lunar surface 
Extended Mission Accomplishments
• Demonstration of hopping of the 
lander by re-firing the engines –
Sep 3, 2023
• Return of the propulsion module 
(PM) to the Earth’s orbit
Preliminary steps towards Lunar Sample Return Mission
Trajectory of the PM’s return to Earth’s orbit
Aug 23, 2023: Ch-3 
soft-landed on Moon
Pre and Post hop ramp images captured by LI-1 cam
    12/14
    First-Cut Observations from Chandrayaan-3
1. First-ever detection of S on the lunar regolith, 
along with trace constituents like C, N P Ti, 
Mn, Cr, Ni; quantification in progress 
2. First-ever temperature profiling of the lunar 
regolith up to ~ 10 cm depth, results show 
good thermal insulating properties of the 
lunar soil
3. A few events of ground vibrations of the lunar 
surface are recorded
4. First-ever characterization of the near-surface 
lunar plasma at higher lunar latitude; indicate 
that only a few tens to hundreds of electrons 
per cc; dependence on local time
(detailed analyses in progress)
Elemental 
composition
Temperature 
profile
Vibration 
event
    13/14
    Thank You for Kind Attention
    14/14

    Chandrayaan3 Mission - Space the final Frontier

    • 1. Chandrayaan3 Mission
    • 2. Scientific Motivation for Indian Lunar Exploration • Airless body à All the wavelengths unhindered (since no thick atmosphere) • No Global Magnetic Fieldà Exposed directly to the solar wind (H+, He++, other ions PLUS electrons) Picture courtesy: T J Stubbs Domains for Study: Elemental composition, mineralogy, geology; Exosphere studies; Particle environment
    • 3. q HYSI q TMC q LLRI qHEX qMIP q C1xS q SARA q M3 q Mini-SAR Indian European-Indian United States q SIR-2 qRADOM European Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) Terrain Mapping Camera – 2 (TMC-2) Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) Imaging Infra-Red Spectrometer (IIRS) Dual frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR) Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer – 2 (CHACE-2) Dual Frequency Radio Science Experiment (DFRS) Chandrayaan-1 (2008) Chandrayaan-2 (2019) Chandrayaan-3 (2023) “Chemical, mineralogical, geologic mapping of the Moon” “Ground truth of the surface and near-surface properties at the landing site” India’s Lunar Science Programme: Scientific Rationale Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) – Langmuir Probe (RAMBHA-LP) Chandra’s Surface Thermo-physical Experiment (ChaSTE) Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE)
    • 4. From Chandrayaan-1 to Chandrayaan-2 Ch-1 payloads Specifications Ch-2 payloads Improved Specifications Enhanced science HySI SIR-2 M3 32 spectral bands 0.93 - 2.4 micron 0.7 – 3.0 micron IIRS 256 spectral bands, 0.8 to 5.0 micron; Res. 0.020-0.025 micron Unambiguous detection of OH, water and water-ice signatures. Mini-SAR S-band, circular polarimetry DFSAR L and S band Greater depth of penetration (~5-10m i.e twice that of S-band); circular and fullpolarimetry ChACE-1 on MIP 1-100 amu; short duration CHACE-2 1-300 amu; continuous Global dynamics of exospheric species C1XS 0.5 – 10 keV CLASS 0.8 – 15 keV, ~ 3 times larger area, 12.5 km resolution High resolution elemental maps, minor elements detection, geotail studies SXM 1–20 keV; 250 eV at 6 keV XSM 1 – 15 keV; ~180 eV @5.89 keV Better resolution and high cadence TMC-1 Panchromatic TMC-2 + OHRC Miniaturised version & HiresMass reduction & high-res imaging RO Experiment Single freq – S band DFRS Dual freq.- S and X bands Vertical profiling of ionosphere, electron density measurements, mitigation of scintillation effects
    • 5. From Chandrayaan-2 (global) to Chandrayaan-3 (in-situ) RAMBHA-LP (measurement of the near-surface plasma) APXS and LIBS (Elemental Composition of the surface) CHASTE (Thermophysical properties of the regolith) ILSA (Moon-quakes, ground acceleration) DFRS (RO experiment) CLASS + XSM (Surface elemental composition) CHACE-2 (Exospheric neutral Composition) DF-SAR & IIRS (Subsurface hydration, surface roughness, surface hydration) Complementary obs. Ground truth on elemental composition Internal release Neutral-to-plasma connection Local in-situ observations, plus looking for any variations of properties in the vicinity of the landing site Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Payloads Chandrayaan-3 Lander and Rover Payloads
    • 6. Improvements in Chandrayaan-3 Lander Sensors Propulsion System Improvements in NGC Re-work on touchdown limits Software Hardware Redundancy Exhaustive Simulations & Ground Tests Improved Mission Plan Improvements in Propulsion Module Based on the lessons learnt from Chandrayaan-2 Lander
    • 7. Choice of the Landing Site of Chandrayaan-3 Scientific Technological 1. Higher latitudes are relatively unexplored 2. Unique condition – Sun shines at grazing angle à lesser deposition of energy, solar wind ions and electrons 3. Scientifically interesting Topography 1. Conditions on global slope 2. Conditions on the sizes of boulders and crates 3. Shadow analysis; power generation 4. Communication with Earth 69.3 S, 32.3 E
    • 8. The Journey of Chandrayaan-3 July 14, 2023, at 14:35 Hrs. IST from the Second Launch Pad, SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota
    • 9. The Journey of Chandrayaan-3 (contd.) Orbits are not up to the scale
    • 10. Landing Sequence of Chandrayaan-3
    • 11. 23 August, 2023, Wednesday, 18:04 IST Achieved soft landing on the Moon India: The 1st country to have soft-landed in higher lunar latitude The 4h country to have soft-landed on the Moon 69.3 S, 32.3 E ShivShakti Point
    • 12. Chandrayaan-3 Mission Update Vikram Lander on Lunar Surface: Picture taken by the Pragyan Rover Total distance travelled by Pragyan: ~ 101 m Original Mission Objectives • To soft-land the lunar lander-rover module on the pre-determined landing site at the Southern higher latitudes of the Moon • Demonstration of the rover movement on the lunar surface Extended Mission Accomplishments • Demonstration of hopping of the lander by re-firing the engines – Sep 3, 2023 • Return of the propulsion module (PM) to the Earth’s orbit Preliminary steps towards Lunar Sample Return Mission Trajectory of the PM’s return to Earth’s orbit Aug 23, 2023: Ch-3 soft-landed on Moon Pre and Post hop ramp images captured by LI-1 cam
    • 13. First-Cut Observations from Chandrayaan-3 1. First-ever detection of S on the lunar regolith, along with trace constituents like C, N P Ti, Mn, Cr, Ni; quantification in progress 2. First-ever temperature profiling of the lunar regolith up to ~ 10 cm depth, results show good thermal insulating properties of the lunar soil 3. A few events of ground vibrations of the lunar surface are recorded 4. First-ever characterization of the near-surface lunar plasma at higher lunar latitude; indicate that only a few tens to hundreds of electrons per cc; dependence on local time (detailed analyses in progress) Elemental composition Temperature profile Vibration event
    • 14. Thank You for Kind Attention


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