National Space Day, the unforgettable day of August 2023, is marked in history, and it is also the day when India reached its biggest milestone. This day is unforgettable, as it is a day when all the astronomers, space lovers, and even the common public celebrate with joy and pride in their eyes. On August 23, ISRO (Indian Research and Space Organization) successfully landed the rover and the lander of Chandrayaan-3. 23rd August is the day when the Indian Flag was beautifully flying on the crystal moon.
India became the first ever country to successfully land on the dark side of the Moon. Our honorable Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, claimed that every year, August 23 will be celebrated as National Space Day.
The Beginning of Indian Lunar Mission
The Successful launch of Chandrayaan-1:
This year, on 23rd August we will be celebrating our first national space day. But have you ever wondered why this particular day is celebrated as our national space day? Everything started in 1999, when, for the very first time, a mission to the moon was mentioned during a meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences. Soon this idea came into progress when the Astronomical Society of India began planning in the year 2000. It was termed a lunar exploration mission.
Many talented Indian scientists from all fields combined together to make this vision come true, and it indeed did when Chandrayaan-1 was launched on 22nd October, 2008. On 8th of November in the same year, the Chandrayaan-1 made its orbital insertion. Later, we lost contact on 28th August 2009, due to some technical problems. However, India didn’t lose its spirit and was determined to achieve their goal. That’s when they decided to develop Chandrayaan-2, which we can say was the stepping stone for India.
The Setback of Chandrayaan-2:
All the scientists working on the Chandrayaan-1 mission were working on Chandrayaan-2. The mission’s main focus was to find variations in the composition of the lunar surface, along with finding water present on the moon. It consisted of a lunar orbiter, a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan . The mission was approved by the Indian government on 18th September, 2008 and soon the work began once again in all its force. A year later, the design of the spacecraft was finalized. The scheduled launch date was postponed from January 2013 to 2016 due to Russia’s inability to develop the rover on time, which was to be used in the mission
Russia at that time had faced a backlog due to the failure of the Phobos-Grunt mission, and the lander that was to be used in the Chandrayaan-2 mission was also used in the Phobos-Grunt mission. Roscosmos needed ISRO to decrease the mass of the spacecraft as there was an increase in the mass of the lander.
On the other hand, even after rescheduling the schedule Russia was unable to develop a rover, and that’s when India decided to develop its own rover. Since Chandrayaan-2 was scheduled for a different date it was decided that its unused hardware can be used for the Mars Orbital Mission. On 22nd July, 2019 it was finally ready to launch after all the necessary tests and final checking on everything was done.
On September 6th, 2019 the lander was supposed to make its landing; however, due to a software glitch, the lander was reported to have deviated from its intended trajectory, and we had lost contact with the lander. Initially, everyone thought that the lander had crashed. With that news, each and every person, not just the team of scientists working on the project but also the nation, who prayed for the success of the hard work of those scientists who had worked day and night to make this mission work were also crushed.
With tears in the eyes of Mr. K. Sivan, everyone thought that it was the end and maybe India still needed a lot. But as we know, the first step towards success is when you fail, because failure is not fatal, and it tells us where we went wrong and how we can improve. With this in their minds, our brilliant scientists, with their never-giving- up spirit, started working again on Chandrayaan-3.
The Triumph of Chandrayaan-3:
Chandrayaan-3 was the mission that not only made India proud but also showed the world that success takes time and you only achieve it when you learn to never give up. It took 1 year, 1 month, and 5 days for the mission to be completed before the launch. It was launched on 14th Of July in 2023, and soon the journey to the moon once again began.
It was reported that the spacecraft had made its orbital insertion on 5th August, 2023. Now was the actual time that would decide if the mission was a success or not, and on 23rd August, 2023 the rover had successfully landed. That day, our scientists proved that there is nothing impossible, even when it seems impossible. 23rd August is celebrated as our National Space Day because that day we achieved the biggest milestone after all the defeats we faced. There are many more victories that are yet to be made, and India will make them.
If you want to know more about the latest astronomical updates then stay tuned!Enjoyed reading this blog, then consider reading
- How India’s Lunar Mission Chandrayaan-3 Stands Apart from Luna-25
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Reimagining Lunar Landings: Chandrayaan-3’s Quest for Success. Satish Dhawan Space Center
