What is the Chandrayaan program?

The Chandrayaan program is a series of Indian lunar space probes by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar probe, launched in 2008, discovered water on the Moon and mapped it using infrared, visible, and X-ray light. Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019, was designed to be ISRO’s first lunar lander, but contact was lost before landing. Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed in the Moon’s south polar region in 2023, making India the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.

Which country runs the Chandrayaan missions?

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) runs the Chandrayaan missions, which are a series of Indian lunar space probes. Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar probe, discovered water on the Moon. Chandrayaan-2 was intended to be ISRO's first lunar lander, while Chandrayaan-3 became ISRO's first successful lunar lander, touching down in the Moon’s south polar region in 2023.

What was the main goal of Chandrayaan-1?

The main goal of Chandrayaan-1 , India's first lunar space probe, was to map the Moon in infrared, visible, and X-ray light from lunar orbit. It aimed to use reflected radiation to search for elements, minerals, and ice. In 2009, Chandrayaan-1's spectrometer found water molecules on the Moon mixed in with the lunar soil.

How did Chandrayaan-2 differ from Chandrayaan-1?

The Chandrayaan series represents India's lunar exploration missions. Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, was primarily an orbiter that mapped the Moon using various forms of radiation, leading to the discovery of water. It also released the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) to study the lunar atmosphere before crashing on the surface. Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019, aimed to take the mission a step further by including an orbiter, the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan rover. The Vikram lander was scheduled to land on September 7, intending to deploy the Pragyan rover for surface exploration. However, communication was lost just before landing.

What scientific discoveries were made by Chandrayaan missions?

The Chandrayaan missions, a series of Indian lunar space probes, have contributed to significant scientific discoveries about the Moon. Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar probe, is notable for finding water on the Moon . It mapped the Moon using infrared, visible, and X-ray light, and it utilized reflected radiation to search for elements, minerals, and ice. The Moon Impact Probe (MIP), launched by Chandrayaan-1, detected small amounts of water in the Moon’s atmosphere before crashing on the lunar surface. In 2009, Chandrayaan-1's spectrometer identified water molecules mixed in with lunar soil, with the strongest signals coming from the lunar poles. Chandrayaan-3 made history as the first spacecraft to land in the Moon’s south polar region, where water ice could potentially be found beneath the surface.

How has Chandrayaan helped India's space program and the study of the Moon?

The Chandrayaan series of lunar space probes has significantly boosted India's space program and lunar studies. Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, made a groundbreaking discovery of water on the Moon. It mapped the lunar surface using infrared, visible, and X-ray light, also prospecting for elements, minerals, and ice. Chandrayaan-3 achieved a historic milestone in 2023 by becoming the first spacecraft to land in the Moon’s south polar region, believed to contain water ice. This landing site was the farthest south any lunar probe had ever reached. These missions have elevated India to the forefront of lunar exploration, spurring further scientific inquiry and technological advancements in its space program.

Chandrayaan

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Chandrayaan

Indian lunar space probe series

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What is the Chandrayaan program?
The Chandrayaan program is a series of Indian lunar space probes by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar probe, launched in 2008, discovered water on the Moon and mapped it using infrared, visible, and X-ray light. Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019, was designed to be ISRO’s first lunar lander, but contact was lost before landing. Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed in the Moon’s south polar region in 2023, making India the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon.
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1. Chandrayaan
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Which country runs the Chandrayaan missions?
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) runs the Chandrayaan missions, which are a series of Indian lunar space probes. Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar probe, discovered water on the Moon. Chandrayaan-2 was intended to be ISRO's first lunar lander, while Chandrayaan-3 became ISRO's first successful lunar lander, touching down in the Moon’s south polar region in 2023.
1 Britannica Source
1. Chandrayaan
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What was the main goal of Chandrayaan-1?
The main goal of Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar space probe, was to map the Moon in infrared, visible, and X-ray light from lunar orbit. It aimed to use reflected radiation to search for elements, minerals, and ice. In 2009, Chandrayaan-1's spectrometer found water molecules on the Moon mixed in with the lunar soil.
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1. Chandrayaan
2. Moon exploration: Mission results
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did Chandrayaan-2 differ from Chandrayaan-1?
The Chandrayaan series represents India's lunar exploration missions. Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, was primarily an orbiter that mapped the Moon using various forms of radiation, leading to the discovery of water. It also released the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) to study the lunar atmosphere before crashing on the surface.

Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019, aimed to take the mission a step further by including an orbiter, the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan rover. The Vikram lander was scheduled to land on September 7, intending to deploy the Pragyan rover for surface exploration. However, communication was lost just before landing.
1 Britannica Source
1. Chandrayaan
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What scientific discoveries were made by Chandrayaan missions?
The Chandrayaan missions, a series of Indian lunar space probes, have contributed to significant scientific discoveries about the Moon.

Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar probe, is notable for finding water on the Moon. It mapped the Moon using infrared, visible, and X-ray light, and it utilized reflected radiation to search for elements, minerals, and ice. The Moon Impact Probe (MIP), launched by Chandrayaan-1, detected small amounts of water in the Moon’s atmosphere before crashing on the lunar surface.

In 2009, Chandrayaan-1's spectrometer identified water molecules mixed in with lunar soil, with the strongest signals coming from the lunar poles.

Chandrayaan-3 made history as the first spacecraft to land in the Moon’s south polar region, where water ice could potentially be found beneath the surface.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Chandrayaan
2. Moon exploration: Mission results
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How has Chandrayaan helped India's space program and the study of the Moon?
The Chandrayaan series of lunar space probes has significantly boosted India's space program and lunar studies. Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008, made a groundbreaking discovery of water on the Moon. It mapped the lunar surface using infrared, visible, and X-ray light, also prospecting for elements, minerals, and ice.

Chandrayaan-3 achieved a historic milestone in 2023 by becoming the first spacecraft to land in the Moon’s south polar region, believed to contain water ice. This landing site was the farthest south any lunar probe had ever reached. These missions have elevated India to the forefront of lunar exploration, spurring further scientific inquiry and technological advancements in its space program.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Chandrayaan, series of Indian lunar space probes. Chandrayaan-1 (chandrayaan is Hindi for “moon craft”), the first lunar space probe of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), found water on the Moon. It mapped the Moon in infrared, visible, and X-ray light from lunar orbit and used reflected radiation to prospect for various elements, minerals, and ice. It operated in 2008–09. Chandrayaan-2, which launched in 2019, was designed to be ISRO’s first lunar lander. Chandrayaan-3 was ISRO’s first lunar lander and touched down in the Moon’s south polar region in 2023.

A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launched the 590-kg (1,300-pound) Chandrayaan-1 on October 22, 2008, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island, Andhra Pradesh state. The probe then was boosted into an elliptical polar orbit around the Moon, 504 km (312 miles) high at its closest to the lunar surface and 7,502 km (4,651 miles) at its farthest. After checkout, it descended to a 100-km (60-mile) orbit. On November 14, 2008, Chandrayaan-1 launched a small craft, the Moon Impact Probe (MIP), that was designed to test systems for future landings and study the thin lunar atmosphere before crashing on the Moon’s surface. MIP impacted near the south pole, but, before it crashed, it discovered small amounts of water in the Moon’s atmosphere.

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contributed two instruments, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³) and the Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini-SAR), which sought ice at the poles. M³ studied the lunar surface in wavelengths from the visible to the infrared in order to isolate signatures of different minerals on the surface. It found small amounts of water and hydroxyl radicals on the Moon’s surface. M³ also discovered in a crater near the Moon’s equator evidence for water coming from beneath the surface. Mini-SAR broadcast polarized radio waves at the north and south polar regions. Changes in the polarization of the echo measured the dielectric constant and porosity, which are related to the presence of water ice. The European Space Agency (ESA) had two other experiments, an infrared spectrometer and a solar wind monitor. The Bulgarian Aerospace Agency provided a radiation monitor.

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

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The principal instruments from ISRO—the Terrain Mapping Camera, the HyperSpectral Imager, and the Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument—produced images of the lunar surface with high spectral and spatial resolution, including stereo images with a 5-metre (16-foot) resolution and global topographic maps with a resolution of 10 metres (33 feet). The Chandrayaan Imaging X-ray Spectrometer, developed by ISRO and ESA, was designed to detect magnesium, aluminum, silicon, calcium, titanium, and iron by the X-rays they emit when exposed to solar flares. This was done in part with the Solar X-Ray Monitor, which measured incoming solar radiation.

Chandrayaan-1 operations were originally planned to last two years, but the mission ended on August 28, 2009, when radio contact was lost with the spacecraft.

Chandrayaan-2 launched on July 22, 2019, from Sriharikota on a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III. The spacecraft consisted of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. The orbiter circles the Moon in a polar orbit at a height of 100 km (62 miles) and has a planned mission lifetime of seven and a half years. The mission’s Vikram lander (named after ISRO founder Vikram Sarabhai) was planned to land on September 7. Vikram carried the small (27-kg [60-pound]) Pragyan (Sanskrit: “Wisdom”) rover. Both Vikram and Pragyan were designed to operate for 1 lunar day (14 Earth days). However, just before Vikram was to touch down on the Moon, contact was lost at an altitude of 2 km (1.2 miles).

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Chandrayaan-3 launched from Sriharikota on July 14, 2023. The spacecraft consists of a Vikram lander and a Pragyan rover. The Vikram lander touched down on the Moon on August 23. It became the first spacecraft to land in the Moon’s south polar region where water ice could be found under the surface. The landing site was the farthest south that any lunar probe had touched down, and India was the fourth country to have landed a spacecraft on the Moon—after the United States, Russia, and China.

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