Chandrayaan: News

The Chandrayaan program, called the Indian Lunar Exploration Program, is an ongoing series of missions overseen by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The name of the program is derived from Sanskrit and translates to moon craft. The first phase of the mission was announced on India's Independence Day (August 15) in 2003 by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Launched on October 22 2008 aboard a PSLV rocket, the mission was a huge success for ISRO as the Moon Impact Probe discovered water on the moon. The second phase of the mission involved sending our Russian-built soft lander and rover to the moon. The second phase was announced on September 18, 2008, by the first Manmohan Singh cabinet. Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22, 2019, strapped to a GSLV Mk3 rocket. The spacecraft was successfully injected into orbit but the lander was lost while attempting to land in September. The arbiter remains operational and is expected to function for another eight years. The third phase of the mission has prioritized re-attempting a demonstration of the landing capabilities. As of August 2021, Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2022.