On July 21, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its Chandrayaan 3 mission. In roughly a month, the mission spacecraft will build up its momentum around earth, slingshot to the moon (completed), and there decelerate (ongoing) and finally descend over the lunar surface.
While Chandrayaan 3 has a complicated mission, a lot has gone into increasing the chances of its success, including how its instruments were built and tested. A journey through space – even as short as the one from earth to the moon – is an adventure in which the spacecraft’s own needs need to be balanced against the harsh demands of spaceflight.
