Context

• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been awarded the prestigious Leif Erikson Chandra Award by Husavik Museum for its contribution in understanding celestial mysteries through Chandrayaan 3.
• Indian Ambassador Balasubramaniam Shyam accepted the prestigious award on behalf of ISRO.
• About Chandrayaan-3 Mission
• On August 23, the lander module of Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the south pole of the Moon.
• This achievement ranked India as the fourth country to achieve a successful Moon landing after the United States, China and Russia.
• The mission not only demonstrated ISRO's technical capability but also the space agency's resilience after the crash landing of Chandrayaan-2 four years ago.
• After the successful landing, Vikram lander and Pragyan rover carried out various tasks on the lunar surface, including detecting elemental presence like sulfur, recording temperature differences and monitoring lunar activities.

 Positive impact of mission success

• The success of Chandrayaan-3 has further strengthened India's position in lunar exploration.
• Building on this success, India quickly pursued its inaugural solar mission, Aditya-L1, launched on September 2.

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR EXAM

Chandrayaan-3 Mission

• Launch Vehicle – LVM-3 MK-4
• 3 parts of the mission: Propulsion module, Lander (Vikram), Rover module (Pragyan).
• Rover: A six-wheeled vehicle, powered by solar panels, it is equipped with various instruments to obtain fundamental structure around the landing site.
• Mission duration: 1 lunar day (14 Earth days)
• Weight: 1,749.86 kg (including rover)
• Measurement: 200 × 200 × 116.6 cm.

Landing site naming

• The point where Chandrayaan-3's 'Vikram Lander' has stepped on the moon has been named 'Shiv Shakti'.
• Apart from this, PM Modi has named the point where Chandrayaan-2 lander crashed as 'Tiranga.