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‘Chandrayaan 3 Landing Will Be Postponed To August 27, If Factors Unfavourable’, Says ISRO Scientist

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Ahmedabad, August 21: If any factor regarding the lander module appears unfavourable, then the landing will be shifted to August 27, said the Space Applications Centre-ISRO about Chandrayaan-3 on Monday. Nilesh M Desai, director of Space Applications Centre-ISRO, Ahmedabad said that the decision regarding the landing will be taken based on the health of the lander module and the conditions on the Moon.

Decision will be taken hours before landing on August 23

“On August 23, two hours before Chandrayaan-3 lands on the Moon, we will decide on whether or not it will be appropriate to land it at that time based on the health of the lander module and the conditions on the Moon. In case, if any factor appears to be not favourable, then we will land the module on the Moon on August 27. No problem should occur and we will be able to land the module on August 23,” Director Desai said.

ISRO Chairman and Secretary Department of Space S Somanath called on the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology, Atomic Energy and Space Jitendra Singh in New Delhi today and apprised him of the status and readiness of ‘Chandrayaan-3’ for the moon landing scheduled on August 23, 2023.

ISRO Chairman briefs Minister Jitendra Singh

Chairman ISRO briefed the minister on the health status of Chandrayaan-3 and said that all systems are working perfectly and no contingencies are anticipated on Wednesday. In the next two days, the health of Chandrayaan-3 will be continuously monitored. The final sequence of landing will be loaded two days ahead and tested out, he said.

Jitendra Singh expressed his confidence in ‘Chandrayaan-3’

During the meeting, Minister Jitendra Singh expressed his confidence in ‘Chandrayaan-3’ making a soft landing this time and hoped that it will script a new history of planetary exploration under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ISRO said the Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the moon on August 23, 2023, around 18:04 hours IST. Live actions will be available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV from 17:27 IST on Aug 23, 2023.

While the Chandrayaan-2 mission was only “partially successful” since the lander lost contact after a hard landing, the ISRO successfully established two-way communication between the Chandrayaan-3 lander module and the still-orbiting Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. In a significant development, the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter which was already fixed around the moon established a two-way connection with the lander module of Chandrayaan-3 on Monday.

ISRO shared images of far side of the moon

Earlier today, the ISRO shared new images of the lunar far side area captured by the Chandrayaan-3. India will be the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat after the United States, Russia, and China, but India will be the only country in the world to land on the lunar south pole.

The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-3 mission are threefold — to demonstrate safe and soft landing on lunar surface; to demonstrate rover roving on the moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-3’s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission’s progress.

Jitendra Singh recalled that the first in the series of Chandrayaan — namely Chandrayaan-1, is credited for having discovered the presence of water on the surface of the Moon, which was a new revelation for the world and even the premier Space agencies like the USA’s NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) were fascinated by this discovery and used the inputs for their further experiments.

Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14, 2023, via the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota at 2:35 PM.

Ahead of the much-awaited soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of the Moon, former director of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and in-charge of the previous lunar mission ‘Chandrayaan-2’, K Sivan earlier today said that the mission will be a “grand success”. “It’s a very anxious moment…I’m sure that this time it will be a grand success,” Sivan said while speaking to news agency.

“We have our own system and we will be establishing a soft landing without any problem. But it is a complex process,” he said while responding to a question asked whether there would be any impact after the failure of Russia’s Luna-25 mission. Russia’s moon mission failed after its Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and smashed into the moon on Sunday.

He said that corrective measures have been taken after going through data generated by the Chandrayaan-2 mission. When asked if those additional systems too were indigenous, Sivan said, “Everything is indigenous.”

Earlier today, ISRO released images of the lunar far side area captured by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC). This camera assists in locating a safe landing area — without boulders or deep trenches — during the descent.

Notably, the ‘Vikram’ lander module of the spacecraft successfully separated from the propulsion module recently, and subsequently underwent crucial deboosting manoeuvres and descended to a slightly lower orbit. The Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander is named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919–1971), who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space program.

A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then it has been through a series of orbital manoeuvres been lowered closer to the moon’s surface.

It has been a month and seven days since the Indian Space Research Organisation launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 14. The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.

The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, are safe and soft landing, rover roving on the moon’s surface, and in-situ scientific experiments. The approved cost of Chandrayaan-3 is Rs 250 crores (excluding launch vehicle cost).

Chandrayaan 3 development phase commenced in January 2020

Chandrayaan-3’s development phase commenced in January 2020 with the launch planned sometime in 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought an unforeseen delay to the mission’s progress.

The key scientific outcomes from Chandrayaan-2 include the first-ever global map for lunar sodium, enhancing knowledge on crater size distribution, unambiguous detection of lunar surface water ice with IIRS instrument, and more.

Maharashtra

Unmanned electric boats deployed at Gateway of India and Budhwar Park to remove floating waste in the sea

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Mumbai: Municipal Corporation is using modern technology to keep the beach and the surrounding area clean. In this regard, unmanned electric boats (electric boats) have been started in the Gateway of India and Budhwar Park areas to collect floating waste in the sea. These boats collect about 80 to 90 kg of floating waste from these areas daily.

As per the instructions of Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, various steps are being taken under the supervision of Ashwini Bhide, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi and Deputy Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) Kiran Dighavkar.

In this context, under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner (Zone-1) Chanda Jadhav and under the leadership of Assistant Commissioner (A Division) Gajanan Belle, two unmanned electric boats have been operated in the Bharati Kendra and Budhwar Park areas of the ‘A’ Division of the Municipal Corporation. These boats are fully electric and are environment-friendly. They have a Vehicle Traffic Management System (VTMS) and a Global Positioning System (GPS), through which the navigation, working area and safety of the boat can be controlled. These boats are capable of carrying out the work of collecting floating waste at sea more efficiently and in a planned manner.

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Maharashtra

The Municipal Corporation and the Railway Administration should work together to make Mumbai flood-free, directs Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde

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Mumbai: Emphasis should be given to repair the walls and fences of the railway bridge and widening the bridge outlet. Strong (durable) nets should be installed at the outlet of the culvert. So that along with the drainage of rainwater, garbage coming from residential areas also does not get stuck in the drains. Apart from this, garbage stuck at the outlet should be removed and all the bridges should be cleaned before the monsoon. Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde said that the Municipal Corporation Administration and the Railway Administration should work in coordination to ensure that water does not accumulate on the railway tracks and in the areas adjacent to the railway station and to keep Mumbai safe from floods during heavy rains. As part of the pre-monsoon works, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation is rapidly taking up the work of removing garbage from drains in Mumbai. Under this, Standing Committee Chairman Prabhakar Shinde visited the drain cleaning and railway plot cleaning works in the eastern suburbs today (18 May 2026). During this inspection tour, Shinde reviewed the works of railway culverts, drain cleaning, water lifting pumps etc. Prabhakar Shinde inspected the bridge over Neelam Nagar Nallah in Devikarpa Housing Society in Mulund (East), railway flyover over Nanipara Nallah in Railway Yard in Mulund (East), railway flyover over Nallah in Ocean Nagar, bridge over Nallah in Washer. Nallah bridge over Devkibai Chawal in Ghatkopar (East) and railway flyover over Jolly Gymkhana Nallah near Railway Station in Vidya Vihar (East). Local Corporator Rakhi Jadhav, Corporator Dharmesh Giri, Corporator Dr. Archana Bhalrao, Deputy Chief Engineer (Rainwater Channels) Sunil Dutt Russell, Deputy Chief Engineer (Rainwater Channels) (Eastern Suburbs) Sanjay Angale, Senior Divisional Engineer of Central Railway Shri Sachin Panchal and other concerned officers were present on the occasion. During the inspection of the culvert at Nanipara drain in the railway yard in Milind (East), it was found that there is a large population on the western side of the drain and the waste of this population is coming directly into the drain. Since this waste is going directly into the large drain, there is a possibility of blockage in the drain. Keeping this in mind, strong iron nets should be installed on the western side of the drain where there is a population. So that the waste does not come directly into the drain, Shinde directed the railway authorities. The ongoing work of cleaning the drain is satisfactory. However, the work should be expedited to prevent accumulation of rainwater and the remaining work should be completed within the stipulated time. If all the work of cleaning the drain is done, then there will be no water accumulation in Mumbai this year, for this coordination between the Municipal Corporation and the Railway Administration is necessary. Shinde said that both the administrations should work with proper coordination. The walls of all other bridges, including the bridge on Crompton Nallah near Toyo Engineering Company in Kanjurmarg (West), should be repaired before the monsoon season. The Railway Administration should also give high priority to widening the bridge. It should be ensured that the railway cables adjacent to the bridge opening are kept as far away from the ground as possible. So that the garbage flowing in these cables does not get stuck. Shinde said that overall the administration should make efforts to make Mumbai flood-free this year.

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West Bengal ashram bombing: Two accused arrested from Borivali

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Mumbai: The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested two absconding accused in the bombing outside an ashram in West Bengal Murshidabad district near Borivali railway station. Both the accused had fled from West Bengal to Mumbai after the incident to avoid arrest and were hiding here. According to the Mumbai Crime Branch, the incident took place on May 14 in the Berhampur police station area of ​​West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. The police said that the incident came to light after tension increased in the area after the declaration of the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections. The arrested accused have been identified as Roki Khan (24) and Shahadat Sarkar (35). Roki Khan is a driver by profession, a resident of Kundi Hotel Para, while Shahadat Sarkar is a labourer from village Natunpura. After taking both the accused into custody, Mumbai Police has completed the legal proceedings and obtained a two-day transit remand and started the process of handing them over to the West Bengal Police. The case was registered on the complaint of Pashupati Nath Saha, a grocery shopkeeper in Majirpara Post Office area. Ali Hussain alias Laden, Hassan SK and three unidentified persons have been named as the main accused in the complaint. According to the police, several other accused are still absconding. According to the investigating officers, the dispute began on May 12 when some unidentified persons tore images from an electric pole near the Maa Durga temple located near the ashram. The situation escalated on the night of May 13. According to the police, “At around 10:45 pm, the accused and their accomplices hurled socket bombs in the open field in front of the ashram. The explosions spread panic in the area and created an atmosphere of fear among the locals. The complainant alleged that at around 10:30 am on May 14, some accused arrived outside his shop on motorcycles and threatened that if he reported the matter to the police, he would be bombed again. After the FIR was registered on May 15, the police launched a search operation. Investigation revealed that the accused had left home and fled to West Bengal. Further investigation revealed that both the accused had reached Mumbai by Gitanjali Express. This information was then given to the Mumbai Crime Branch. Based on technical surveillance and intelligence, the CIU team arrested both the accused near Borivali railway station. This operation was carried out by DCP Raj Roshan Tilak and CIU Crime Branch on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti. .

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