Apna Chandrayaan: India's Web Portal for Lunar Mission

Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, has launched a new web portal named 'Apna Chandrayaan'. 

About ‘Apna Chandrayaan’ Web Portal

• The web portal offers a variety of engaging activities for students, including coloring books, online quizzes, jigsaw puzzles, picture builders, and graphic novels that tell inspiring stories about Chandrayaan 3. 
• This platform was developed by NCERT under the aegis of the Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, with the aim of enhancing learning and promoting space exploration among students.
• For Foundational and Preparatory levels, there are coloring sheets, dot-to-dot activities, color coding with instructions, and other materials that will help develop students' observation and awareness skills. 
• Interactive quizzes with explanatory feedback will be available for Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary levels. Students who score more than 70% will receive digital certificates, and the first 1000 winners will receive age-appropriate books. 
• For all levels, there are jigsaw puzzles and picture builders to provide a fun and engaging learning experience. In addition, there are graphic novels that depict the events that shaped ISRO's journey up to Chandrayaan 3, which can be a source of inspiration for students.

About NCERT

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organization established in 1961 by the Government of India with the objective of providing assistance and advice to the Central and State Governments on policies and programs for the qualitative improvement of school education. 

• The primary mission of NCERT and its constituent units is to undertake, promote, and coordinate research in areas related to school education.

Chandrayaan -3 Mission

• On July 14 2023, ISRO launched Chandrayaan-3 from Sriharikota using a GSLV-Mark III (LVM-3) heavy-lift rocket. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft comprises a lander called Vikram and a rover called Pragyan, but unlike Chandrayaan-2, no orbiter is involved in this mission.
• The mission's estimated budget is Rs 615 crore. The Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram stands about 2 meters tall and weighs just over 1,700 kg. It has a lunar rover named Pragyaan, which weighs 26 kg. During various experiments, the Rover will analyze the lunar surface's mineral composition with a spectrometer.
• The mission objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are:
  • Demonstrate a Safe and Soft Landing on the Lunar Surface
  • Demonstrate Rover roving on the Moon and
  • Conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
• Mission life of Chandrayaan -3 is one lunar day (14 Earth days).

Chandrayaan -2 Mission 

• On July 22, 2019, ISRO launched Chandrayaan-2 from Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota Island, Andhra Pradesh, using Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV-Mark III). 
• The mission's budget was estimated at Rs 978 crore. The spacecraft has an orbiter, a Vikram lander, and a rover named Pragyan (meaning 'wisdom' in Sanskrit). 
• The orbiter is still orbiting the Moon at a height of 100 km and has a planned mission lifetime of 7.5 years. The Vikram lander was scheduled to land on September 7, 2019, in the Moon's south polar region, where it was hoped that water ice could be found beneath the surface. 
• Vikram and Pragyan were designed to work for one lunar day (14 Earth days). However, contact was lost with Vikram at an altitude of 2 km, just before it landed on the Moon.

Chandrayaan -1 Mission 

• ISRO's first deep space mission was the Chandrayaan-I, launched on October 22, 2008, using a PSLV-C11 launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota island, Andhra Pradesh. 
• The mission had an estimated budget of Rs. 386 crores. The spacecraft weighed 590 kg and carried a Moon Impact Probe (MIP) that tested systems for future landings, studied the thin lunar atmosphere, and crashed onto the Moon's surface.
• On November 14, 2008, ISRO deliberately crashed MIP near the Shackleton crater at the south pole of the Moon, discovering small amounts of water in the Moon's atmosphere before it crashed.
• The Chandrayaan-1 mission was designed to last two years, but ISRO lost radio contact on August 29, 2009. However, in 2017, NASA discovered that Chandrayaan-1 was still orbiting the Moon.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 

• It was set up on August 15 1969
• It is India's national space agency.
• Vikram Sarabhai is considered the founder of ISRO and was the first chairman of ISRO.
• Headquarters: Bengaluru
• Chairman: S.Somanath