BENGALURU: A day after Vikram, the Chandrayaan-3 lander set the stage for a controlled landing planned for around 6.04pm on August 23 by entering a pre-landing orbit of 25km x 134km, Isro released pictures of the far side of Moon — the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth.
“The Lunar far side area was captured by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC). This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area — without boulders or deep trenches — during the descent is developed by Satellite Application Centre (SAC),” Isro said.
All four photos shared by Isro were taken on August 19, a day before Vikram entered the pre-landing orbit. With the stage set for landing, Isro would now be carrying out internal checks on the landing module. Powered descent is expected to commence on August 23 at around 5.45pm and Vikram is set to land on the lunar surface around 6.04pm.

Explaining why Vikram’s landing is planned on the day Sun rises on Moon, Isro chairman S Somanath had said earlier: “…We want the landing to happen when Sun rises on Moon so we get 14-15 [Earth] days to work. If landing cannot happen on the first two days (Sun rise and the next day) we’ll wait for another month and land in September.”
With all phases of the mission having gone nominally, Isro will attempt the landing on August 23, a success at which would see Vikram descend on a pre-decided site near the lunar south pole, four years after success remained elusive to its predecessor bearing the same name.
Extended Life Not Ruled Out
Vikram and Pragyan (the rover) are designed to have a life of one lunar day (14 Earth days) powered by the sun, but a life extension is not ruled out completely.
According to Somanath: “Once the Sun sets, there will be no power for the lander and rover to function and all the equipment will stop working. However, our tests show that there are possibilities of the battery getting recharged upon the next Sun rise. If that happens, we could get another 14 days or maybe even more.”
Upon a successful landing, Pragyan will slide down from Vikram — which will be captured by cameras on the lander — and begin to move on the lunar surface using its wheels. Pragyan is also equipped with cameras for obstacle avoidance.
Pragyan’s movement will be restricted to be within the lander’s observational area as Isro wants cameras on the lander to be able to see the rover at all times. As of now the movement is for 14 days and Isro will map the distance it covers. In case the life of the lander and rover gets extended, then Pragyan will travel more.
In Queue To Reach Moon
While Vikram is just three days away from landing, Russia’s Luna-25, which was scheduled to pip Chandrayaan-3 in reaching the polar region of Moon, has suffered a glitch while it attempted entering a pre-landing orbit.
Whether Saturday’s glitch would affect Luna-25’s landing remains unclear with Russian space agency Roscosmos saying specialists were still analysing the data.
Either way, Chandrayaan-3 and Luna-25 aren’t the only lunar missions planned this decade. They are only the first among at least 10 other lunar missions planned between now and 2025, with the US, Israel, China and Japan — including a joint mission with India — all going to Moon.
The US will launch its CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services), Trailblazer, VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) and Artemis-II, China has multiple missions under the China’s Lunar Exploration Programme, Israel is planning Beresheet-2 and Japan will launch Hakuto-II & III and SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) independently, and Lupex (Lunar Polar Exploration) jointly with India.
These missions are part of a renewed interest globally to return to Moon and efforts for a more sustained presence. Aside from these, the lunar orbit is already crowded albeit low compared to Earth orbits, posing a challenge of collisions for all lunar missions.