One of the latest images sent by the Vikram lander

 One of the latest images sent by the Vikram lander

Mr Somanath has said Chandrayaan-3 will work to build on the success of India's earlier Moon missions and help make some "very substantial" scientific discovery.

Chandrayaan-1, the country's first Moon mission in 2008, had discovered the presence of water molecules on the parched lunar surface and established that the Moon has an atmosphere during daytime.

And despite failing the soft landing, Chandrayaan-2 was not a complete write-off - its orbiter continues to circle the Moon even today and will help the Vikram lander send images and data to Earth for analysis.

The lander and the rover are carrying five scientific instruments which will help discover "the physical characteristics of the surface of the Moon, the atmosphere close to the surface and the tectonic activity to study what goes on below the surface".

On Wednesday, scientists will use a complex set of manoeuvres to reduce the lander's speed gradually to bring it to a point which will allow a soft landing in an area which space scientists have described as "very uneven, full of craters and boulders".