The dramatic landing may have been delayed for a reason.

Dramatic moment

Hindustan Times quoted information from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Monday, August 21, saying that two-way communication between Chandrayaan 3 and Chandrayaan 2 in lunar orbit has been established.

Image of the Moon's south pole taken on August 19 by Chandrayaan 3's Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera. Photo: ISRO

"'Hello, buddy!', IRSO humorously shared the greeting of Chandrayaan-2 on its Twitter account. Chandrayaan-2 is the second lander in India's series of lunar missions launched in 2019. However, it failed to land on the lunar surface and lost contact when it was nearly 2.1 km away from the planet.

The lander module of Chandrayaan 3, India's third lunar mission, is expected to touch down on the lunar surface at around 6:04 pm on August 23, ISRO announced on August 20.

"The soft landing of Chandrayaan 3 was a landmark moment that not only ignited curiosity but also inspired exploration among our youth," ISRO said.

However, after the failure of Luna-25 (Russia) to land on the Moon, India was cautious during the landing of Chandrayaan 3.

“Two hours before Chandrayaan 3 lands on the Moon, we will make a decision on whether it is appropriate to land at that time based on the condition of the lander module and the conditions on the Moon.

In case any factor appears unfavourable, we will move the landing to August 27," Nilesh M Desai, Director of ISRO Space Applications Centre, told news agency ANI.

However, Mr. Desai expressed confidence that India's third Moon mission will successfully land as per the original schedule.

Historical mission

According to ISRO, if Chandrayaan 3's landing is successful, India will become the fourth country to have a soft-landing vehicle on the Moon, along with the US, Russia and China.

However, the recent failure of Russia's Luna-25 mission means India has a chance to become the first country to land on the Moon's south pole, the intended destination of Chandrayaan-3.

The Moon's south pole is also known as the "dark side of the Moon." Scientists say the rugged south pole terrain could make landing for Chandrayaan 3 difficult.

ISRO said it had learned from the failure of its previous Moon mission and had improved Chandrayaan 3 to make the landing more likely to be successful. Chandrayaan 3 also had more fuel, more solar panels and sturdier legs.

Chandrayaan 3 has already mapped the landing site and photographed the Moon's surface using its hazard detection and avoidance camera. The black-and-white images sent back by this camera will help ISRO "identify a safe landing area - free of boulders or deep trenches"...

All these factors create an extremely tense and dramatic atmosphere ahead of Chandryaan 3's landing.

ISRO revealed that space enthusiasts around the world can watch Chandrayaan 3's landing live on the agency's official website, YouTube channel, and Facebook from 5:27 p.m. on August 23.

ISRO has also asked schools and other educational institutions across India to host live streaming of the Chandrayaan 3 landing.