Chandrayaan-3: India's Third Lunar Mission
**Introduction** Chandrayaan-3 is the third lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was launched on July 14, 2023, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India. The mission consists of a lander and the Pragyan rover similar to Chandrayaan-2, but does not have an orbiter. **Objectives** The main objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are to: * Demonstrate the end-to-end capability of a soft landing on the lunar surface. * Deploy the Pragyan rover to conduct in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface. * Study the lunar South Pole region, which is thought to be rich in water ice. * Develop and demonstrate new technologies required for future interplanetary missions. **Payloads** The Chandrayaan-3 lander has a number of payloads, including: * A Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) to create a 3D map of the landing site. * A Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) to analyze the elemental composition of the lunar surface. * An Alpha Parti...