The earlier mission in 2019, Chandrayaan 2, was not successful. With AI support, will Indian space scientists be third time lucky?

On August 23, Chandrayaan 3, a lunar lander mission by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), will attempt to land on the Moon using AI-controlled computer logic. The landing process, scheduled for [18:04] hours, will be managed entirely by the onboard AI system, without any manual interventions from ISRO scientists. The AI system is responsible for navigation, guidance, and control during the 15-minute descent phase.

The lander’s sensors, including velocimeters, altimeters, and hazard avoidance cameras, work together with a computer algorithm to determine the lander’s position and orientation. The navigation, guidance, and control system, powered by computer logic, guides the lander to the correct landing position. (Indian Express)

It may be recalled that in 2019, the Vikram Lander of India’s Chandrayaan 2 lunar landing mission likely crashed to the moon’s surface on September 7. “Vikram Lander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, communication from Lander to the ground stations was lost. Data is being analyzed,” was the official communication then issued by ISRO.

The Chandrayaan 3 mission is characterized by multiple back-up measures installed by ISRO to ensure a lunar landing. “If all sensors fail, if everything fails it will still make a landing provided the propulsion system works well. This is how it has been designed. Even if two of the engines do not work also this time the lander will be able to land. It has been designed in such a way that it should be able to handle multiple failures. If the algorithms work well we should be able to do a vertical landing,” said ISRO chairman S Somnath.

Extensive simulations and adjustments have therefore been made to ensure a safe and soft landing on the moon. The AI system’s ability to sense its location and make decisions based on programmed logic is crucial for the success of the mission.

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