Correct option is C
The correct answer is (c) Chandrayaan-III.
Explanation:
· The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully executed a soft landing on the moon with the Chandrayaan-III mission on August 23, 2023.
· The lander module, named Vikram, successfully touched down on the lunar south pole region.
· This achievement made India the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon and the first to land successfully on the south pole.
· The mission's success marked a significant milestone for India's space program and its global standing in space exploration.
· Following the landing, the Pragyan rover was deployed to conduct in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface.
Information Booster:
· The Chandrayaan-III mission was launched on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, using a LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) rocket.
· The landing site near the lunar south pole is of great scientific interest because it is believed to contain water ice in permanently shadowed craters.
Additional Information:
Chandrayaan-I (Option a)
· Launched in 2008, this was India's first lunar mission.
· It was an orbiter mission and did not perform a soft landing.
· The primary achievement was confirming the presence of water molecules on the Moon through its Moon Impact Probe (MIP).
Chandrayaan-II (Option b)
· Launched in 2019, this mission also aimed for a soft landing on the lunar south pole.
· The mission was partially successful; the orbiter continued to function, but the Vikram lander crashed during its final descent due to a software glitch.
Chandrayaan-IV (Option d)
· This is a future mission currently in the planning stage, not a past mission that has already landed.
· The objective of Chandrayaan-IV is to achieve a lunar sample return, bringing back lunar rocks and soil to Earth.