Chandrayaan-3: The launch of Chandrayaan-3 will strengthen India’s international collaborations including that between India and the United States, said Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, on Wednesday.

MoS Jitendra Singh said while addressing the grant launch event of the India-US Science And Technology Forum (IUSSTF) Artificial Intelligence And Quantum Technologies.

During his address, Singh said, “I have the confidence to say that the launch of Chandrayaan-3 is going to raise the level of India’s international collaborations including that between India and the US”.

Chandrayaan-3, India’s highly anticipated third lunar exploration mission and second endeavor to achieve a successful soft landing on the surface of the Moon, is poised to embark on its journey on July 14 (Friday) at 1435 IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre located in Sriharikota.

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The mission will be launched utilizing the advanced Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM 3) as its means of transportation. The upcoming launch of Chandrayaan-3 marks another significant milestone in India’s ambitious space exploration program and holds great promise for furthering our understanding of the Moon’s mysteries.

Singh stated that India and the US are equal collaborators in technology.

“As it was evident from the recent visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the signing of the different agreements, while India looks up to the United States for collaboration, I have the courage to say the United States also looks up to us with equal enthusiasm,” Jitendra Singh asserted.

Jitendra Singh said that the US looks at India as an equal collaborator and it was evident from the fact that one of the agreements between the USA would be soliciting Indian astronauts to accompany them to the International Space Station.

“When you are operating at an equal level, you have the zeal to grow equally, to share your best practices, the collaboration becomes meaningful, also becomes durable,” he added.

Quoting Prime Minister Modi, Jitendra Singh said, “Al stands for America-India relation. Al also stands for artificial intelligence.”

Speaking on India-US ties, Singh said, “Strengthening of the ties between any two countries from the 21st century onwards is also going to be technology-driven, not merely rhetoric driven. Chandrayaan has actually added value to this collaboration,” Jitendra Singh added.

As India’s third lunar exploration mission and its second attempt to achieve a soft landing on the Moon’s surface, Chandrayaan-3 is currently undergoing meticulous preparations. In a recent development, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) conducted a comprehensive “Launch Rehearsal” to simulate the entire launch preparation and process.

This dry run, lasting 24 hours, aims to ensure that all systems and procedures are thoroughly tested and optimized for a successful mission. The completion of the Launch Rehearsal signifies an important milestone in the mission’s progress, bringing India one step closer to realizing its lunar exploration objectives.