Our Bureau
Bengaluru
All eyes are set on Chandrayaan 3 as it completes its 41-day journey to prepare itself to attempt soft landing on the south pole of lunar surface. The mission which started its journey on 14th July from Shriharikota, has garnered sufficient attention from throughout the world. The US, China, and USSR have attempted soft-landing on Moon’s equatorial region but Moon’s south polar region is considered difficult due to rough terrain. If Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft lands on Moon’s south polar region, it will open new chapters for India in the space odyssey.
Chandrayaan-3 is the third and most recent Indian lunar exploration mission under the Chandrayaan program of ISRO. It consists of a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan similar to those of the Chandrayaan-2. Its propulsion module acts like an orbiter. As per ISRO, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft will “measure the near-surface plasma (ions and electrons) density and its changes with time; carry out the measurements of thermal properties of the lunar surface near-polar region; ensure seismicity around the landing site and delineating the structure of the lunar crust and mantle; derive the chemical Composition and infer mineralogical composition to further our understanding of Lunar-surface, and will determine the elemental composition of Lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site”.
On the other hand, India’s Praggnanandhaa, the chess prodigy grandmaster and World No 1 Magnus Carlsen faced each other in the first game of FIDE World Cup final on Tuesday which ended in a draw. He has now become the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament. The Chennai star became only the second Indian ever to qualify for the semifinals of the World Cup after the legendary Viswanathan Anand.
