India's Chandrayaan-3 probe to attempt historic moon landing today: Watch it live

[Judi Lynn]

1. What time will India's Chandrayaan-3 probe land on the moon today? Here's how to watch live.

By Elizabeth Howell published 1 day ago
India's Chandrayaan-3 mission aims to put a lander and rover on the moon this morning (Aug. 23).

India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander is targeting today (Aug. 23) for a soft touchdown.

The Chandrayaan-3 moon lander is aiming to bring an Indian Space Research Organisation mission safely to the surface for the first time today. Touchdown is expected at 8:34 a.m. EDT (1:34 p.m. GMT, or 6:04 p.m. in India.)

You can watch the broadcast live on ISRO's YouTube channel starting at 7:50 a.m. EDT on Wednesday (1250 GMT, or 5:20 p.m. in India). If ISRO indeed touches down, it will mark the first soft landing on the moon for India. Only three other countries have accomplished such a feat: The United States, the former Soviet Union and China.



India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft snapped this photo while entering orbit around the moon on Aug. 5, 2023. (Image credit: ISRO)

The 6-billion-rupee (roughly $73 million) Chandrayaan-3 is expected to touch down at 8:34 a.m. EDT

(1:34 p.m. GMT, or 6:04 p.m. in India.) That timing was provided by ISRO several days ago and the exact touchdown moment may vary depending on how the mission is going.

The mission will bring to the lunar surface a lander, called Vikram, and a small rover called Pragyan. The duo will explore the surface for a lunar day (roughly 14 Earth days), if all goes according to plan. Then the long lunar night will descend on the robotic pair and likely deplete their batteries forever.



Photo of the moon's far side captured on Aug. 19, 2023, by the Chandrayaan-3 probe's Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC). (Image credit: ISRO)

More:
https://www.space.com/chandrayaan-3-india-moon-landing-what-time