Space: Chandrayaan-3 lifted off from Sriharikota at 2:35 pm IST aboard LVM3, beginning India's third lunar mission.
Flood peak: The Yamuna in Delhi crested at its highest level since 1978 for a second successive day; over 30,000 people remained evacuated.
Defence: India's Naval Marching Contingent participated in the Bastille Day parade in Paris, marking 25 years of the India-France strategic partnership.
Science: Chandrayaan-3 targets the lunar south pole, where permanently shadowed craters may hold water ice.
Context: Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up to Chandrayaan-2's partially successful 2019 mission.
1. Chandrayaan-3 launched
GS area: Science and Technology
ISRO launched Chandrayaan-3 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 14:35 IST on July 14, 2023.
Launch vehicle: LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3). Previously called GSLV Mk-III. Can carry up to 8,000 kg to geosynchronous transfer orbit.
Mission mass: Approximately 3,900 kg.
Three modules: Propulsion Module (carries the lander to lunar orbit), Lander Module named Vikram, and Rover named Pragyan.
Target: Soft landing near the lunar south pole. India aimed to become the fourth country after the United States, the Soviet Union, and China to achieve a soft lunar landing.
South pole significance: Permanently shadowed craters at the south pole may contain water ice formed from cometary impacts and solar wind interactions. Water ice could support future human missions as a source of oxygen and hydrogen fuel.
Chandrayaan-2 outcome: The orbiter from Chandrayaan-2 (2019) continues to operate and relay data. The Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-2 crash-landed during final descent in September 2019.
Landing timeline: The mission was designed to reach lunar orbit and descend to the surface in approximately five to six weeks, targeting late August 2023.
Static linkage: ISRO and space missions, science and technology, India's achievements.
2. Yamuna floods: the day the record was set
GS area: Geography, Disaster Management
July 13-14, 2023 were the peak days of the Delhi Yamuna flood. On July 13, the river crested at 208.66 metres, the highest since 1978.
Key levels at Old Railway Bridge: Warning level 204.50 m; danger level 205.33 m; evacuation level 206 m; previous record (1978) 207.49 m.
July 13 peak: 208.66 m, setting a new Highest Flood Level record for the Yamuna at Delhi.
Evacuees: Around 30,000 people removed from the Yamuna flood plain. Delhi government set up 16 control rooms.
Affected areas: Yamuna Bazar, Rajghat, ITO, Majnu Ka Tilla, Civil Lines, and Geeta Colony all reported waterlogging and flood conditions.
Upstream cause: Heavy discharge from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana, where the Yamuna enters the plains from the hills.
NDRF teams: 12 National Disaster Response Force teams were deployed for evacuations and rescue.
Expert critique: Flood policy described as an "absolute failure" by water experts who cited siltation of the riverbed, encroachment on the floodplain, and poor inter-agency coordination.
Static linkage: Disaster management, river geography, urban resilience.
3. India-France strategic partnership at 25
GS area: International Relations
India's Naval Marching Contingent participated in the Bastille Day parade in Paris on July 14, marking the 25th anniversary of the India-France strategic partnership.
Partnership established: 1998. France was the first country to use the phrase "strategic partnership" with India.
Defence cooperation: Scorpene-class submarines built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders with technology from Naval Group, France. Six were planned; five delivered by 2023.
Naval exercise Varuna: Bilateral naval exercise initiated in 1993. This is the primary joint naval exercise between India and France.
Bastille Day: France's national day, observed on July 14 each year, commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution.
G7 context: PM Modi attended the G7 summit in Paris around this period, reinforcing the bilateral relationship.
Static linkage: India-France relations, defence partnerships, Indian Navy.
4. Lunar south pole: the science case
GS area: Science and Technology, Environment
The scientific rationale behind Chandrayaan-3's south pole target deserves separate treatment for prelims.
Water ice: Lunar south pole craters receive no sunlight and temperatures drop below minus 200 degrees Celsius. Water molecules delivered by comets and meteorites can be trapped as ice indefinitely.
Resource potential: Water ice can be electrolysed into hydrogen (rocket fuel) and oxygen (life support), potentially enabling a permanent lunar base.
Historical record: Sediments in these craters preserve a record of asteroid and comet bombardment, and possibly of the early solar system chemistry.
US Artemis programme: NASA's goal of returning astronauts to the Moon (target: 2025) is focused on the south pole for the same reasons.
Competitive dimension: China and Russia are also targeting south pole missions. India's Chandrayaan-3 was racing to be the first to land at or near the pole.
Static linkage: Space science, resources in space, international competition.
5. LVM3 launch vehicle
GS area: Science and Technology
The LVM3 (renamed from GSLV Mk-III) is ISRO's heaviest launch vehicle.
Configuration: Three stages. First stage uses two S200 solid-propellant strap-on boosters. Core stage uses L110 liquid-fuel engine. Upper stage uses C25 cryogenic engine.
Cryogenic engine: India developed the C25 cryogenic engine indigenously after a technology denial by Russia in the 1990s. It uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Commercial use: LVM3 has been used commercially to launch OneWeb broadband satellites in multiple batches.
Mass to orbit: Up to 4,000 kg to geostationary transfer orbit; up to 8,000 kg to low-earth orbit.
Chandrayaan-3 impact: India's entry into the exclusive group of countries that have achieved a soft lunar landing depends on mission success in August 2023. The USSR, US, and China are the only three that have previously succeeded.
Yamuna recovery: Delhi authorities expected waters to begin receding by July 16-17 as upstream discharges reduced. The flood underscored the need for updated river flood zoning maps.
Indo-French defence: France is also the only NATO country with a formal Indo-Pacific strategy that includes the Indian Ocean. The bilateral SCALP cruise missile deal and Rafale fighter jets are central to the partnership.
Operation Meghdoot (1984): India launched this operation to take control of the Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield. This is unrelated to the July 2023 news but a frequently-tested fact in the geography of J&K.
Practice MCQs
Check yourself
Chandrayaan-3, launched on 14 July 2023, consisted of which of the following components?
Check yourself
The LVM3 launch vehicle's cryogenic upper stage (C25) uses which combination of propellants?
Check yourself
Which country was the first to use the phrase "strategic partnership" in describing its relationship with India?
Check yourself
The Yamuna at Delhi is measured at which gauge station for flood-level declarations?
Check yourself
Which country has NOT yet achieved a soft lunar landing as of the Chandrayaan-3 launch in July 2023?