Space is hard. Moon missions are a testament to this phrase. Data show that historically over 40% of moon missions have failed. If we consider only those missions which involved a robotic lander (a spacecraft performing a controlled landing on the lunar surface), the failure rate sharply increases to over 60%. The failure rates of ‘sample return’ missions, which collect samples from the moon and bring them back to the earth, is even higher at 67% as such missions are complex and riskier.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is no stranger to this fact. In September 2019, ‘Vikram’, the lander of the Chandrayaan -2 mission, lost contact with the earth and went blank minutes before lunar touchdown. The mission of the lander and the rover ‘Pragyan’, was declared a failure. The orbiter mission was a success as the orbiter was placed in the intended orbit.
Chandrayaan 3, largely a replica of Chandrayaan -2, was launched by ISRO on July 14 and is expected to land on the moon on August 23-24 this year. Chandrayaan -3’s lander now has stronger legs, enhanced power, and an upgraded landing sequence, with which it aims soft- land on the moon. Lander missions are among the hardest to execute.
