Article introduction:
An incredible journey of the Indian Chandrayaan-3 has once again attracted global attention. Just yesterday, the Vikram lander completed an unprecedented maneuver, ignited and soared, and then successfully soft landed again. The feat is reminiscent of some of the astronautical feats in history, while also impressing India's space exploration ambitions. Let's review this amazing event together.
Some people may think that the action of the Indian Chandrayaan-3 is just a technical show of little significance. After all, the height of the re-ignition flight is only 40 centimeters, and the traverse is only 30 to 40 centimeters. However, this small success has important symbolic significance. It makes India the second country in the world to complete this type of test after the United States, and the technology will play an important role in future lunar sample return and manned lunar missions. Coupled with the fact that India became the first country in the world to successfully make a soft landing on the lunar "South Pole", this achievement has once again put India in the global spotlight.
It is worth mentioning that the gravitational pull of the Moon is only one-sixth of that of the Earth, so even a small takeoff is enough to make an object jump tens of centimeters on the lunar surface. Looking back at history, when the American Surveyor 3 unmanned probe landed on the moon on April 20, 1967, due to interference from highly reflective lunar rocks, the engine shut down at a distance of 4.3 meters from the lunar surface, causing the lander to fall directly, and then bounced twice, reaching altitudes of 10 meters and 3 meters, respectively. Later, during the Apollo 12 mission, the manned lunar module stopped about 155 meters from Surveyor 3, and the gravel emitted by the engine slightly damaged the unmanned lander, and the two astronauts had to go to unload some parts and bring them back to Earth.
Finally, although India's lunar bouncing behavior is somewhat more symbolic, it cannot be ignored that their lander has fuel left, and the engine and control system are still operating normally after experiencing strong vibrations at the moment of landing and more than a week of strong radiation on the lunar surface. India's space industry shows great potential, and without China, India is likely to be a third world star. However, as is often said, India's achievements may end up being just a touch of color on the backdrop.