ISRO brings back the Propulsion Module used in Chandrayaan-3

On Tuesday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) celebrated a significant milestone as they announced the successful return of the propulsion module used in the Chandrayaan-3 mission. A propulsion module is a machine that generates thrust to move a spacecraft through space. It played a pivotal role in Chandrayaan-3’s historic lunar landing and has now safely returned to Earth’s orbit.

On 23rd August 2023, India became the fourth country to land a vehicle on the surface of the Moon. Earlier, only China, the United States of America and the former USSR had achieved this feat. The Propulsion module was responsible for carrying the Vikram Launcher from launch vehicle injection to a 100-km orbit around the Moon. After carrying it close to the Moon, the propulsion module separated itself from the Vikram lander. It then continued to orbit the Moon and capture and send information back to ISRO. As 100 kg of fuel was left in the module, ISRO strategically decided to bring it back to the Earth’s orbit. 

It is a significant achievement as it marks the first instance of ISRO recovering an object from the Moon’s orbit. This achievement shows that ISRO is a step closer to future missions, where the spacecraft needs to make its way back to Earth successfully after the landing. ISRO is now closer to fulfilling PM Narendra Modi’s vision of sending an Indian astronaut to the Moon by the year 2040.