Year Of The Moon
THE WEEK India|September 03, 2023
How India learnt its lessons from the Chandrayaan-2 debacle
ABHINAV SINGH
Year Of The Moon

On the evening of August 23, when the clock crept four minutes past six, a billion hearts heaved in joy of a kind most had never experienced before. India was on the moon, with Chandrayaan-3 landing on its unexplored south pole. Softly and safely. With that, India became the fourth country to soft-land on the moon and the first to land on its south pole. “This sounds the bugle for a developed India,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who witnessed the landing virtually from Johannesburg where he was attending the BRICS summit.

There has been palpable nervous excitement about the 615-crore mission since Chandrayaan-3’s launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 14. But India has been moony about the moon since 2008 when it launched Chandrayaan-1. That was a wet October day, with the northeast monsoon winds having a field day. There were apprehensions that the launch would have to be postponed. But everything went on schedule. And, Chandrayaan-1 successfully orbited the moon. Through its observations, it uncovered evidence of water both on and beneath the lunar surface, sparking fresh geological inquiries. But in the tenth month of its two-year mission, it went radio silent, abruptly ending its exploration. Nonetheless, India’s inaugural lunar mission was a success. A decade later, in 2019, India decided to soft-land on the moon with Chandrayaan-2. It ended in disappointment, as the lander, Vikram, crash-landed due to a last-minute glitch. The lander was trying to make a controlled landing near the moon’s south pole, where scientists expect to find water ice. It started descending at 1:38am on September 7, 2019, and took 10 minutes to slow down from a speed of 1,640m per second to 140m per second. It ceased communication when it was merely 2.1km from the moon’s surface.

This story is from the September 03, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the September 03, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE WEEK INDIAView All
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
THE WEEK India

What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?

IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
THE WEEK India

Trump and the crisis of liberalism

Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Men eye the woman's purse
THE WEEK India

Men eye the woman's purse

A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
When trees hold hands
THE WEEK India

When trees hold hands

A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Ms Gee & Gen Z
THE WEEK India

Ms Gee & Gen Z

The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
THE WEEK India

Vikram Seth-a suitable man

Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Superman bites the dust
THE WEEK India

Superman bites the dust

When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THE WEEK India

OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port

time-read
4 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE WEEK India

Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets

THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
THE WEEK India

Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay

AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024