Vikram lander hops on the Moon in some more good news from Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-3 has made a soft landing on the Moon yet again, but this time it just hopped on the Moon, defying all limitation and achieving success beyond all expectations. 

What

Just a mere few days after etching history by making a soft landing on the south pole of the Moon, the Vikram Lander exceeded all mission objectives and successfully carried out a “hop experiment”.

ISRO initiated a bold experiment during Chandrayaan-3, where the Vikram Lander executed a daring manoeuvre by leaping from the lunar surface.

Describing the said “hop experiment”, ISRO clarified that the lander executed engine ignition as instructed, raising itself by the anticipated 40 cm. The Indian space agency reported a successful touchdown, approximately 30 to 40 cm from its intended target.

Why is the experiment important?

ISRO described the experiment as a “kick-start that enthuses future sample return and human missions!”

• This means that the success of this particular “hop experiment” will act as a pivotal factor in planning future missions to the Moon; including human missions.  

ISRO creates history for India

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 helped India achieve the historic feat of making the soft landing on the south pole of the Moon, only a few days after a Russian mission failure with the same objective. 

This achievement has given India the title of the first-ever country to land a craft on the south pole of the Moon, at only a fraction of the cost that the space programmes of other countries spent. 

Future projects of ISRO

Last week, ISRO triumphantly launched its inaugural Sun mission, Aditya-L1, which aims to delve into the mysteries of coronal heating and solar wind acceleration.

ISRO has an ambitious and busy slate ahead of themselves: 

• ISRO is set to embark on a three-day crewed mission to Earth's orbit next year.
• They have also planned a collaborative mission with Japan, scheduled for 2025, which is aimed at sending an additional probe to the moon.
• Within the next two years, ISRO plans to launch an orbital mission to Venus.