Chandrayaan-3: Everything you need to know about India's follow-up moon mission

The propulsion module will transport the Lander and Rover to a lunar orbit 100 km above the surface. The propulsion module also contains a payload called Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE), which is designed to analyse the spectral and polarimetric properties of Earth from the lunar orbit.

It will have a landing module and an orbiter. However, unlike Chandrayaan-2, this orbiter won’t be equipped with a research payload.

Chandrayaan-3 is a mission to develop new technologies for interplanetary missions. It consists of a Lander module, a Propulsion module, and a Rover.

Image: ISRO

The Lander module will gently land on a specific lunar site and release the Rover. The Rover will analyse the lunar surface's chemicals as it moves around. Both the Lander and Rover carry scientific instruments for experiments.

The Propulsion module's main job is to transport the Lander to a lunar orbit 100 km above the surface. Once in orbit, the Lander separates from the Propulsion module. The Propulsion module itself has a scientific instrument that will be used after separation.

The GSLV-Mk3 rocket will launch Chandrayaan-3 and place it in an elliptical orbit around Earth before heading towards the Moon.

The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-3 mission are to demonstrate safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, showcase the mobility of the Rover on the moon, and conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

S Somanath, chairman of ISRO, announced that the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft will retain the names of its predecessors. The spacecraft will be called 'Vikram' after Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of the Indian space programme, and the rover will be named 'Pragyan,' meaning Wisdom in Sanskrit. This decision honours the legacy of Chandrayaan-2 and maintains a symbolic connection between the missions.