India Successfully Retrieves Chandrayaan-3 Propulsion Module, Marking a Historic Moon Landing Mission

Subscribe to CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter to stay updated on the latest news about fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements, and more. India's spacecraft propulsion module, which propelled it to a historic moon landing, has now transitioned back into Earth's orbit, as confirmed by the country's space agency. This maneuver is intended to test the potential capability of returning samples of lunar soil in the future.

The propulsion module had a surplus of fuel, exceeding the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) expectations. As a result, researchers made the decision to proceed with bringing the module back towards Earth, as announced by the agency on Monday. Subsequently, the module is now back in Earth's orbit.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission's lunar lander was propelled by a propulsion module, a unit shaped like a large box with a solar panel and an engine strapped to its bottom, for most of its journey to the moon after the spacecraft launched in mid-July. After reaching lunar orbit three weeks later, the lander separated from the propulsion module and successfully touched down on August 23, making India only the fourth country to achieve this milestone. The United States, China, and the former Soviet Union had previously landed vehicles on the moon's surface.

From ISRO

Witness the breathtaking footage taken by India's lunar lander, Chandrayaan-3. The Vikram lander, along with the Pragyan rover it released, successfully conducted planned scientific experiments for nearly two weeks before entering a two-week period of hibernation during the lunar night when the moon's surface is shrouded in darkness.

Both the lander and the rover have remained dormant on the moon after previous efforts to rouse the vehicles proved unsuccessful. If the vehicles had been revived, it would have been a valuable addition to the already successful mission, as deemed by India's space agency.

In the meantime, the propulsion module continued to orbit the moon, acting as a communication point to transmit data from the lander to Earth. Additionally, the module housed a single experiment called the Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth, or SHAPE.

Chandrayaan bonus mission

The purpose of the SHAPE experiment was to observe Earth from lunar orbit, using near-infrared light to capture the features that make our planet suitable for human habitation. The goal was to provide scientists with guidelines on how to identify similar features, known as "biosignatures," on other celestial bodies in the universe.

The original intention was to conduct the SHAPE experiment for approximately three months, as the propulsion module continued to move through lunar orbit. However, due to the precise orbit delivered by the rocket that launched the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, the propulsion module had more propellant left than anticipated.

The space agency reported that after more than a month of operations in lunar orbit, over 100 kg (220 pounds) of fuel was made available in the propulsion module (PM). It was determined that this fuel would be used to gather further data for future lunar missions and to showcase mission operation strategies for a sample return mission. This means that the ISRO could utilize the insights gained from the propulsion module's return to plan a future moon landing mission capable of returning samples of lunar soil to Earth.

The Psyche spacecraft from NASA is showcased in a pristine environment at the Astrotech Space Operations facility close to the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 8, 2022. The gold-capped flight laser transceiver of DSOC is visible, located near the center, and is attached to the spacecraft.

Ben Smegelsky/NASA

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India previously conducted a "hop" test to vault the Chandrayaan-3 lander off the surface of the moon after landing, testing aspects of the vehicle's design for future missions. However, the test did not attempt to reconnect with the propulsion module or return to lunar orbit. The propulsion module is currently orbiting about 96,000 miles (154,000 kilometers) above Earth, completing one lap around the planet every 13 days.

The space agency stated that the planned path for the propulsion module's return to Earth took into account the need to avoid collision with the Moon's surface or entry into Earth's geostationary orbit (GEO) at 36,000 km, and orbits below that. GEO is home to costly satellites that deliver television and communication services to people on Earth.