Chandrayaan-3 is the third lunar mission by ISRO. This is ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its landing in 2019. Chandrayaan-3 has been successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 14, 2023, at 2:35 pm IST aiming to soft-land on the southern pole of the moon on Aug 23, 2023, at 5:47 pm IST. European Space Agency(ESA) is supporting the mission according to a contract.
Here are the major differences between Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3-
| Chandrayaan-2 | Chandrayaan-3 |
| 1. It had a lunar orbiter, Vikram lander and Pragyan rover. | 1. It has Vikram lander and Pyagran rover but not any orbiter. |
| 2. Mass: 3850 Kgs | 2. Mass: 3900 Kgs |
| 3. Total cost: ₹978 cr. | 3. Total cost: ₹615 cr. |
| 4. Lander had no Laser Doppler Velocimeter. | 4. Lander has a Laser Doppler Velocimeter. |
| 5. Consisted of less solar panels in the lander. | 5. Consists of more solar panels in the lander. |
| 6. Lander had no Laser Retroreflector Array(LRA). | 6. Lander has a Laser Retroreflector Array(LRA) to understand the dynamics of the moon system. |
| 7. Landing site(around): Latitude: 70S : Longitude: 22E | 7. Landing site(around): Latitude: 69S : Longitude: 32E |
| 8. It was carrying less fuel. | 8. Carrying more fuel with a bigger fuel tank. |
| 9. It had only one hazard detection camera. | 9. It has two hazard detection cameras. |