Names are something that India’s third moon exploration mission, slated for a mid-July launch as things stand, will share with the 2019 Chandrayaan-2 lunar adventure. Apart from the obvious ‘Chandrayaan,’ that is.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to retain the names of the Chandrayaan-2 lander and rover for their Chandrayaan-3 equivalents as well, Chairman of the space agency S. Somanath told The Hindu. This means, the Chandrayaan-3 lander will bear the name ‘Vikram’ (after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme) and the rover, ‘Pragyan’.
Much to its disappointment, the ISRO had lost the Chandrayaan-2 lander-rover configuration and the payloads aboard them after ‘Vikram’ crashed on the lunar surface while attempting a soft landing.
