CHANDRAYAAN-3
On 23 August 2023, India became the first nation to land at the Moon's south pole — and only the fourth to land on the Moon at all. This is the complete journey of Vikram and Pragyan.
▶ Official mission film — ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 curtain raiser
Mission Dashboard
4th
Country to Soft-Land
After USA, USSR & China
1st
South Pole Landing
First nation in history
40 days
Journey to the Moon
Launch to touchdown
₹615 cr
Mission Cost
~$75M — less than many films
3,900 kg
Launch Mass
Propulsion + lander + rover
101.4 m
Rover Distance
Driven on the Moon
~12 days
Surface Operations
One lunar daytime
7
Science Payloads
Lander 4 · Rover 2 · PM 1
Demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface
Demonstrate rover roving capabilities on the Moon
Conduct in-situ scientific experiments on the lunar surface
The Journey
Forty days from Sriharikota to Shiv Shakti Point — sit back, the mission replays itself. 🚀
The Lander
Vikram
Named for Dr Vikram Sarabhai, father of the Indian space programme
Mass
1,752 kg (incl. rover)
Power
738 W solar
Landing Legs
4, crash-tested
Communication
IDSN · Ch-2 Orbiter · Rover
● Landed successfully · all payloads performed · asleep since lunar nightfall
Science Payloads Onboard
RAMBHA-LPRadio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere & Atmosphere
A Langmuir probe measuring the density of ions and electrons in the wisp-thin plasma just above the lunar surface — and how it changes through the day.
ChaSTEChandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment
Drove a thermal probe ~10 cm into the soil and found a dramatic result: the surface is ~50 °C while just 8 cm down it's −10 °C — lunar soil is a superb insulator.
ILSAInstrument for Lunar Seismic Activity
The first Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems seismometer on the Moon. It recorded the rover's movements — and one natural event that may be a moonquake.
LRALaser Retroreflector Array (NASA)
A passive mirror array that lets orbiting spacecraft bounce lasers off Vikram for precise ranging — it will serve as a location marker on the Moon for decades.
Science Payloads Onboard
APXSAlpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer
Bombarded lunar soil with alpha particles to read its elemental recipe — confirming aluminium, silicon, calcium, iron and more around the landing site.
LIBSLaser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope
Zapped the soil with a laser and read the flash — making the first-ever in-situ measurement near the south pole and unambiguously detecting sulphur in the soil.
+ The Propulsion Module
The 2,148 kg 'taxi' that carried Vikram from Earth orbit to the Moon. It carries SHAPE — a payload that studies Earth from lunar orbit as if it were an exoplanet, teaching us what a life-bearing world looks like from afar. With leftover fuel, ISRO later flew it back to Earth orbit, rehearsing the return leg of a future sample-return mission.
The Rover
Pragyan
Sanskrit for 'wisdom'
Mass
26 kg
Power
50 W solar
Top Speed
1 cm/second
Distance Driven
101.4 m
● Deployed successfully · 101.4 m traversed · asleep since lunar nightfall
Through Chandrayaan's Eyes
Images captured by the mission — courtesy ISRO. Click any image to enlarge.
Mission Footage
Real videos from the Moon, streamed from ISRO. Tap to play.
Vikram's hop experiment — the lander lifts off and lands again
0:43 · ISRO
Pragyan drives on the Moon and performs an in-place turn
1:56 · ISRO
Rover rotation captured by Vikram's imager
0:24 · ISRO
APXS spectrometer in operation on the rover
0:22 · ISRO
The Moon seen by Lander Imager Camera 4 (20 Aug 2023)
0:40 · ISRO
The Moon seen by Lander Imager Camera 1 (17 Aug 2023)
0:31 · ISRO
The Moon imaged by the Lander Position Detection Camera (15 Aug 2023)
0:17 · ISRO
The Moon during Lunar Orbit Insertion
0:45 · ISRO
Spacecraft Views — click to enlarge
Stand at the landing site
🌕 Visit Shiv Shakti Point in 3D
Open our Moon Explorer, choose ‘Chandrayaan-3 — Shiv Shakti Point’ from Destinations, and fly to the exact spot where Vikram stands.
For young scientists
🚀 Space Science Classes for Kids
Inspired by Chandrayaan? Our hands-on space science and telescope classes turn that spark into skills — 3rd standard onwards.
For Students & Developers
This dashboard is built on Skygaze India's own educational Chandrayaan-3 API — a free mock API based on publicly available ISRO data, made for learning how real mission dashboards are built. Try it in your own projects! All imagery and footage courtesy ISRO. Not an official ISRO live feed.