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Chandrayaan 3 landing: All set for ALS says ISRO

Published on August 23, 2023

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed on Wednesday that they are all set to start the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS) ahead of the historic scheduled soft landing of Chandrayaan 3 on the Moon.

The LM, which includes the lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan), is set to settle near the Moon’s south polar area at 6:04 p.m. today.

ISRO announced the Chandrayaan 3 landing timing:

The space agency also posted images from its hectic operations room.

“Waiting for the Lander Module (LM) to arrive at the designated point, around 17:44 Hrs. IST.” The LM initiates the throttleable engines for powered descent upon receiving the ALS command,” ISRO wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
All set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS).
Awaiting the arrival of Lander Module (LM) at the designated point, around 17:44 Hrs. IST.

Upon receiving the ALS command, the LM activates the throttleable engines for powered descent.
The… pic.twitter.com/x59DskcKUV
— ISRO (@isro) August 23, 2023

According to ISRO authorities, the flight’s last 15 to 20 minutes will be vital. At an altitude of approximately 30 km, the lander would enter the Moon’s powered braking phase and then begin using its four thruster engines by “retro firing” them to reach the Moon’s surface.

When the lander reaches an altitude of roughly 6.8 km, only two engines will be used, while the other two will be turned off to provide reverse thrust to the lander as it descends further.

Will the moon mission get postponed?

According to a top ISRO scientist, the landing will occur only if the weather conditions are “favourable” on the day; a new attempt will be made on August 27. The choice will be made by officials two hours before the landing.

“We will decide whether or not to land Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon two hours before it arrives based on the health of the lander module and the conditions on the Moon.”

If any of the factors prove to be unfavourable, we will land the module on the Moon on August 27,” said Nilesh M Desai, Director of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre, to news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, ISRO will live stream the landing operations at 5:27 p.m. today. It is available on ISRO’s website (https://isro.gov.in) and ISRO’s official YouTube channel.

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