Image: ISRO
Chandrayaan-3
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 2023-07-14 |
|---|---|
| Launch vehicle | LVM3-M4 |
| Spacecraft | Vikram lander + Pragyan rover |
| Target | Moon |
| Type | Robotic |
| Cost | ₹615 crore (~$75M) |
| Mass | 3,900 kg total stack at launch; 1,752 kg lander; 26 kg Pragyan rover |
| Duration | 1 lunar day (~14 Earth days) of surface operations |
| Partners | ISRO (lead), URSC (spacecraft), VSSC (launch vehicle), NASA (LRA) |
| Instruments | ChaSTE (thermophysical experiment), ILSA (seismometer), RAMBHA-LP (Langmuir probe), LRA (laser retroreflector), APXS, LIBS (Pragyan) |
Prime Contractors
Companies that built, launched, or operate this mission. Tickers link to their investor profile.
- Indian Space Research Organisation
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
- Larsen & Toubro
Overview
Chandrayaan-3 made India the fourth country in history to soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon and the first ever to land near the lunar South Pole. Launched on 14 July 2023 from Sriharikota on ISRO's heavy-lift LVM3, the mission was a focused redesign following the loss of Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander in 2019. The new architecture removed the orbiter (Chandrayaan-2's orbiter is still operating and provided communications relay), strengthened landing legs, expanded propellant margins, and added vision-based hazard detection. After a propellant-efficient lunar transfer, Vikram touched down at 69.37°S 32.32°E on 23 August 2023, just 595 km from the lunar south pole — a region of immense scientific and strategic interest because of suspected water ice in permanently shadowed craters. The 26 kg Pragyan rover deployed shortly afterward and over 14 Earth days traversed roughly 100 m, returning data on lunar regolith composition and confirming the presence of sulfur and other elements at the landing site. Vikram and Pragyan entered planned hibernation at lunar dusk and did not wake from the subsequent two-week night, but the mission's primary objectives had already been completed. Chandrayaan-3 cost approximately ₹615 crore (~$75M), one of the lowest-cost successful lunar landings in history.
Key Milestones
2019-09-07
Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander lost during landing
2023-07-14
Chandrayaan-3 launch on LVM3 from Sriharikota
2023-08-05
Lunar Orbit Insertion
2023-08-23
Vikram successful soft landing near lunar south pole
2023-09-04
Vikram and Pragyan enter hibernation at lunar dusk