Chandrayaan-3 moon landing: Vikram lander can function without two engines? Know features of ISRO's unique module

The Chandrayaan-3 moon mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is expected to achieve a historic feat today by making a soft landing on the moon, making India the fourth country in the world to do so.

Once the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft nears the Moon's surface, the descent of the Vikram lander will commence. The main aim of the Vikram lander is to deploy the Pragyan rover on the south pole of the Moon, which will then carry out experiments that will reveal more data about the moon.

After the failure of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, ISRO built the Vikram lander with intricate finesse, with several unique features that almost guarantee its successful landing on the lunar surface.

According to ISRO scientists, the ISRO-built Vikram lander has the ability to function even if its engines fail. ISRO said that Vikram Lander has the ability to make the soft landing on the moon even if all of its sensor stop functioning, and two of its engines fail.

Further, the Vikram lander is equipped with lasers and RF-based meters to study the altitude and the environment of the moon, and whether it will be safe to make a soft landing on the South Pole of the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander also has the capability to automatically calculate fuel, and fire engines at the right times, and scan the surface for any anomalies before touching down.