The Chandrayaan 3 Landing and Outer Space Diplomacy - ARTEMIS and Beyond

---

1. The Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan-3 is poised for a gentle touchdown on the Moon's South Pole on August 23, 2023 at 6:04 pm IST. This mission marks a strategic advancement in India’s lunar exploration journey as it integrates valuable insights from the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

2. One standout feature of the Vikram Lander is its resilient design. In a departure from traditional systems, it's engineered to execute a landing even in the face of sensor malfunctions. This design underscores the mission's focus on propulsion system reliability. 

3. Chandrayaan-3's design aligns with broader objectives of the ARTEMIS missions, aimed at eventually sending humans to the Moon. The Vikram Lander's ability to operate in the face of sensor and engine failures contributes to lunar environment research and paves the way for technologies that can function amidst challenges in harsh conditions. 

4. Collaborative efforts among space agencies, such as ISRO, NASA, and ESA, offer cost-effective solutions through resource sharing and expertise exchange. This cooperative framework optimises mission outcomes and supports a collective understanding of outer space challenges.

Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander Module (LM) is slated to execute a soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon on the evening of August 23 at 6:04pm(IST). Given the level of engineering on the Vikram Lander this time around and based on the lessons from Chandrayaan 2, the Mission’s payload design is unique as compared to other missions ISRO has undertaken. 

The Vikram Lander along with the Pragyaan Rover separated from the indigenously built propulsion module on August 17,2023 and the system health at that point and as of August 21st is reported to be normal. However, given the way ROSCOSMOS’s Luna-25 crashed because it spiralled into an unintended orbit due to deviation between the actual and calculated parameters of the propulsion manoeuvre has made ISRO cautious with the way they manoeuvre the landing for Vikram LM. 

As of August 22, ISRO announced that in case there are any issues with the planned landing on August 23, they will postpone the Chandrayaan-3 landing altogether till August 27 in order to ensure success. The contingencies are in place for the Vikram Lander’s success but that being said, its engineering design is unique as well. 

The uniqueness of the Vikram Lander as described by ISRO Chief S Somnath is in the way it is engineered to sustain failure.  In an interview, Somnath said:

 “If everything fails, if all the sensors fail, nothing works, still it (Vikram) will make a landing. That's how it has been designed - provided that the propulsion system works well” 

This is crucial to the overall global objective of researching and studying the environment of the lunar surface given the larger objectives of missions like ARTEMIS which are targeting placing humans on the Moon in the coming years. This feature of the Lander Module is also key to the effort of understanding the limits of self-repairing systems and designing systems and technologies that are engineered to function even when important systems and sensors fail. 

With the Luna-25 having crashed recently, it's important to understand why certain missions failed as well. In ISRO’s case, while the Chandrayaan-2 mission failed to achieve a soft landing, their Orbiter recently made contact with the Vikram Lander and the Chandrayaan 2 system is reported to act as a backup communication relay (between ISRO and the Lander) in case the Vikram LM systems don't work. 

Here’s the Tweet ISRO posted on August 21, 2023 when the Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter made contact with the Vikram LM. 

"Welcome, buddy!’ Ch-2 orbiter formally welcomed Ch-3 LM. Two-way communication between the two is established. MOX has now more routes to reach the LM" 

MOX here is the Mission Operations Complex which is located at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru, India. 

Additionally, aside from the Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter, the Lander Module of Chandrayaan-3 has the capability to communicate with the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN), a network of large antennas and communication facilities operated by ISRO to support the interplanetary spacecraft missions of India, at Byalalu in Ramanagara district in Karnataka. 

The importance of back up systems, especially communication systems in Outer Space is extremely important from an Outer Space cooperation perspective. With one of the key components of both the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and the ARTEMIS mission being the safety and rescue of individuals in space regardless of nationality. 

The Moon has in the last decade attracted more and more attention from nations and private entities looking to understand the outer space environment and exploring the possibilities of life sources in its harsh environment. One of the key focuses of the Chandrayaan-1 mission was to look for water on the surface of the Moon. This objective was verified with the Chandrayaan-2 probe that managed to detect the presence of H2O (water) as well as OH (hydroxyl) molecules on the Moon using the orbiter's imaging infrared spectrometer. 

That said, multiple missions since have started mapping the surface of the Moon in order to better understand the complexities of the universe and the technological advancement needed for deep space travel. For these reasons, and as part of the ARTEMIS mission, NASA established the Deep Space Network (DSN). DSN is NASA’s international array of giant radio antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions, plus a few that orbit Earth. The DSN also provides radar and radio astronomy observations that improve our understanding of the solar system and the larger universe.

The DSN consists of 3 facilities that are equidistant from each other, exactly 120 degrees apart in longitude. These are in Goldstone, California (USA), near Madrid in Spain and In Canberra, Australia. Chandrayaan 3 is also going to be receiving international support through this deep space network during its attempted landing, namely from the Canberra DSN, the Madrid DSN and European Space Agency’s deep space station in New Norcia, Australia via “Estrack”.“Estrack” is a ESA controlled global network of deep space stations that ESA’s partners can use to track, command and receive data from spacecraft almost anywhere in the Solar System via its ESOC (European Space Operations Centre) mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, 

All of these details point to the increased cooperation in outer space given multiple developments not just in research and technology but also in diplomacy. Missions like Chandrayaan-3 and ARTEMIS are evidence of the fact that increased outer space cooperation will not only increase the likelihood of mission success, but it will also foster  trust and support amongst nations and cut down costs especially when it comes to communications and system backups given the involvement of multiple networks with the same space spacecraft. NASA’s DSN is also a revolutionising factor when it comes to maintaining contact with spacecrafts in deep space. As the Vikram Lander attempts its soft landing on August 23, it will only foster closer ties amongst nations when it comes to cooperation in frontiers beyond the terrestrial.