Chandrayaan-3 and Dark Side of the Moon: Why race to the south pole is hotting up

India’s tryst with the Moon is just hours away. The Chandrayaan-3’s lander and rover are expected to successfully land on the Moon at 6.04 pm and the whole world is watching to see if India makes history. After all, if successful, India will be the first country ever to land an uncrewed probe on the Moon’s unexplored south pole, cementing its place as an international power in space exploration. Landing on the dark side of the lunar surface is no easy feat. Ask Russia’s Luna-25, which was racing against Chandrayaan-3 to reach the Moon, and crashed hours before making its final descent. But why is the south pole of the Moon so important? Why are scientists captivated with it? Is it more difficult to land there? We give you all the answers. An unexplored terrain While there have been several lunar missions, Chandrayaan-3 is attempting to be the first to land on the South Pole of the Moon. All other spacecraft which have landed on the Moon have landed in the equatorial region, a few degree latitude north or south of the lunar equator. An Indian Express report states that the furthest any spacecraft has gone from the equator was Surveyor 7, launched by NASA, which made a moon landing way back on 10 January 1968. This spacecraft landed near 40 degrees south latitude. In April 2019, Israel rocketed towards the moon, attempting a landing on the South Pole, but it crashed. Even India’s Chandrayaan-2, launched in 2019, was to land on the south pole of the Moon, but the lander carrying the rover crashed during the final moments. It was later revealed that the crash was due to a software error. ISRO chief S Somanath has said that changes to the software and hardware of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, especially for the lander thrusters, have been made. Additionally, ISRO has developed improved soft-landing sequences and the lander has four thruster engines instead of five, sturdier legs and larger solar panels, and will carry more fuel to ensure success this time over. Even China’s Chang’e 4 in 2019, which became the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon (the side that does not face the earth), landed near the 45-degree latitude. NASA’s Artemis III, scheduled for a 2025 launch, is also attempting to explore the region near the lunar South Pole. [caption id=“attachment_13031202” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Arun Haryani, an enthusiast with his body painted in tri-colours reacts as he holds up a model of LVM3 M4 which was used in launching of Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the eve of its moon landing, in Ahmedabad. Reuters[/caption] Fascination with Moon’s South Pole For years, space scientists have been captivated with the Moon’s south pole. As NASA states, extreme, contrasting conditions make it a challenging location for Earthlings to land, live, and work, but the region’s unique characteristics hold promise for unprecedented deep space scientific discoveries that could help us learn about our place in the universe and venture farther into the solar system. Space experts believe the lunar surface’s south pole hosts a vast reservoir of water ice in permanently shadowed regions. The presence of water is of immense significance for future space exploration, as it can be converted into resources such as drinking water, oxygen and hydrogen for rocket fuel.

Moreover, the South Pole witnesses extremely cold temperatures; this means that anything trapped here would remain frozen in time, without undergoing much change. The rocks and soil in this region could therefore provide clues to early solar system. Girish Linganna, space and aerospace expert, also explained that the south pole is located in the South Pole-Aitken basin, which is a huge crater. “This makes the south pole a geologically interesting place because it is possible that there is material from the deep crust and upper mantle of the Moon on or near the surface. The south pole is also a more promising place to look for ice than the North Pole,” he was quoted as telling The Week. There are other reasons for accessing water on or just below the Moon’s surface. Many countries are planning human missions to the Moon and astronauts will need water for drinking and other purposes.

Read all our Chandrayaan-3 explainers here _How India's Moon missions went from Somayaan to Chandrayaan_ _Chandrayaan-3 costs lesser than big films: How India keeps its space missions frugal_ _Reaching for the Moon: Meet the team behind India’s Chandrayaan-3_ _How Tamil Nadu’s soil has played a crucial role in ISRO’s Moon mission_ _Chandrayaan-3: Why is soft-landing on the Moon so challenging?_

Transporting equipment from Earth to the Moon involves overcoming the Earth’s gravitational pull. The larger the equipment, the more rocket and fuel load would be needed to achieve a successful landing on the Moon. The new commercial space companies charge around $1 million to take a kilogram of payload to the Moon. “That’s $1 million per litre of drinking water! Space entrepreneurs no doubt see lunar ice as an opportunity to supply astronauts with locally sourced water,” said Professor Simeon Barber, a planetary scientist at UK’s The Open University, who also works with the European Space Agency, to the BBC. [caption id=“attachment_12985582” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Exploration of the south pole of the Moon is not easy. The terrain is difficult and the low temperatures are also a problem. File image/Reuters[/caption] Challenges of reaching the south pole But as the saying goes ‘good things are hard to come by’ and that’s exactly the case with the Moon’s south pole. The terrain is difficult and the low temperatures are also a problem. Several parts of the South Pole lie in a completely dark region where sunlight doesn’t penetrate. Also, temperatures fall to as low as below 230 degrees Celsius. The lack of sunlight and extremely low temperatures create difficulty in the operation of instruments. There are also large craters on the South Pole, some a few centimetres in size, while some are as large as several thousand kilometres. Even a former ISRO chief had highlighted several concerns about landing on the south pole of the lunar surface during the Chandrayaan-2 mission, saying there would be “15 minutes of terror” for the space agency before the touchdown. Race to the south pole While India may be gearing up to be the first in this race to the Moon’s south pole, there are other countries lining up to reach this area. While Russia’s Luna-25 crashed, the country has other Moon missions lined up for the future. The US, meanwhile, is rushing to be the first country to land astronauts at the site, with a crewed mission planned for 2025. China also plans missions to the area, with and without astronauts, before the end of the decade. With inputs from agencies