Chandrayaan-3 likely to be launched during third quarter of 2022: Jitendra Singh

Chandrayaan-3, Indias lunar mission, is likely to be launched during the quarter of 2022, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday, stressing that its progress was hampered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chandrayaan-3, India's lunar mission, is likely to be launched during the quarter of 2022, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday, stressing that its progress was hampered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a written response to a question in Lok Sabha, Singh, Minister of State in charge of the Department of Space, said the launch of Chandrayaan-3 has been rescheduled.

''Chandrayaan-3 is likely to be launched during the third quarter of 2022 assuming normal workflow henceforth,'' he said. Singh added that the realization of Chandrayaan-3 involves various processes, including finalization of configuration, subsystems realization, integration, spacecraft level detailed testing, and several special tests to evaluate the system performance on earth. ''The realization progress was hampered due to the COVID-19 pandemic,'' he said.

However, all works that were possible in the work from home mode were taken up even during the lockdown periods. Chandrayaan-3 realization resumed after commencement of unlock period and is in matured stage of realization, he said.

Chandrayaan-2, aimed at landing a rover on unchartered Lunar South Pole, was launched on July 22, 2019, onboard the country's most powerful geosynchronous launch vehicle.

However, the lander Vikram hard-landed on September 7, 2019, crashing India's dream to become the first nation to successfully land on the lunar surface in its maiden attempt. Chandrayaan-3 is critical for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as it will demonstrate India's capabilities to make landings for further interplanetary missions.