New Delhi: India’s third Chandrayaan mission, ‘Chandrayaan 3,’ is attempting to achieve a soft landing for a rover on the dark side of the Moon, specifically near the South Pole, with a targeted date of August 23. Meanwhile, Russia’s Luna-25 is also set to endeavor a soft landing for its rover about two days earlier, around August 21, on the Moon’s dark side.
Sending a spacecraft to the Moon’s surface is not an unprecedented event. Several countries, including the USA, China, and the former Soviet Union (now Russia), have successfully achieved spacecraft landings there. However, no country has previously attempted to land a spacecraft on the dark side of the Moon, particularly near its South Pole.
Remarkably, this marks the first time that two countries are simultaneously pursuing this ambitious goal. In the upcoming days, it will become clear whether their efforts yield success. ISRO’s prior mission, ‘Chandrayaan-2,’ faced difficulties in achieving a soft landing on the Moon and ultimately crashed after losing communication. The space agency has since learned from this experience and is now better equipped to undertake this challenging endeavor and turn it into a reality.
The world is eagerly waiting to see the success of these two missions. Till then, let’s try to understand the fascination behind the dark side of the moon – the South pole.
What Is the ‘Dark Side Of the Moon’?
The “dark side of the moon” refers to the side of the Moon that is not visible from Earth. It’s often misunderstood as a place that never sees sunlight, but in reality, both the near side (the one facing us) and the far side (the “dark side”) of the Moon experience day and night just like any other celestial body.
The reason we refer to it as the “dark side” is because it remained largely unseen by humans. The Moon’s one rotation is equivalent to the Earth’s 14 days. Therefore, so we always see the same face of the Moon from the Earth. The far side remained hidden until the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 captured images of it in 1959.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The Lander Module (LM) health is normal.LM successfully underwent a deboosting operation that reduced its orbit to 113 km x 157 km.
The second deboosting operation is scheduled for August 20, 2023, around 0200 Hrs. IST #Chandrayaan_3#Ch3 pic.twitter.com/0PVxV8Gw5z
— ISRO (@isro) August 18, 2023
The fascination with the far side of the Moon stems from several factors:
Potential of Frozen Water: As we haven’t explored that side before, there is possibility to find water near the south pole of the Moon.
Mystery: Because it was unseen for so long, the far side became shrouded in mystery. People wondered if it looked drastically different from the side we knew.
Scientific Interest: Exploring the far side of the Moon provides an opportunity to study its geological features, impact craters, and other phenomena that might differ from what we see on the near side.
Potential for Radio Telescopes: Scientists have proposed placing large radio telescopes on the far side to study the early universe and cosmic phenomena more effectively, shielded from our planet’s radio noise.
Future Lunar Missions: The far side could serve as a strategic base for future lunar exploration. It provides a unique environment for scientific study and a potential location for future lunar settlements.