With more fuel, fail-safe measures, Chandrayaan-3 to leap towards moon on July 14

Chandrayaan-3 set for launch on July 14, is loaded with more fuel, a slew of safety measures and a bigger landing site, with ISRO saying it has opted for a “failure-based design”

India's third lunar mission, set for launch on July 14, is loaded with more fuel, a slew of safety measures and a bigger landing site, with ISRO saying it has opted for a "failure-based design" for the second attempt to ensure that the rover successfully lands on the moon even if some things go wrong.

Chandrayaan-3, set for lift-off at 2:35 pm on July 14, will be a follow-up mission after the crash-landing of Chandrayaan-2 in September 2019 due to a software glitch.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath on Monday said instead of a success-based design in Chandrayaan-2, the space agency opted for a failure-based design in Chandrayaan-3, focused on what all can fail and how to protect it and ensure a successful landing.

"We looked at very many failures — sensor failure, engine failure, algorithm failure, calculation failure. So, whatever the failure we want it to land at the required speed and rate.

"So, there are different failure scenarios calculated and programmed inside," he said.

The ISRO chief shared minute details about what went wrong with the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-2 as it went hurtling down towards the identified 500m x 500 m landing spot on the lunar surface with the engines designed to reduce its velocity developing higher thrust than expected.

"The primary issues were, one we had five engines which were used to give the reduction of the velocity, which is called the retardation. These engines developed higher thrust than what was expected," he told reporters here on the sidelines of India Space Congress organised by SIA India.