chandrayaan 2
Inching towards the edge of discovery
Are you ready for the unknown?
Chandrayaan 2 is an Indian lunar mission that will boldly go where no country has ever gone before — the Moon's south polar region. Through this effort, the aim is to improve our understanding of the Moon — discoveries that will benefit India and humanity as a whole. These insights and experiences aim at a paradigm shift in how lunar expeditions are approached for years to come —
Why are we going to the Moon?
The Moon is the closest cosmic body at which space discovery can be attempted and documented. It is also a promising test bed to demonstrate technologies required for deep-space missions. Chandrayaan 2 attempts to foster a new age of discovery, increase our understanding of space, stimulate the advancement of technology, promote global alliances, and inspire a future generation of explorers and scientists.
What are the scientific objectives of Chandrayaan 2? Why explore the Lunar South Pole?
Moon provides the best linkage to Earth’s early history. It offers an undisturbed historical record of the inner Solar system environment. Though there are a few mature models, the origin of Moon still needs further explanations. Extensive mapping of lunar surface to study variations in lunar surface composition is essential to trace back the origin and evolution of the Moon. Evidence for water molecules discovered by Chandrayaan-1, requires further studies on the extent of water molecule distribution on the surface, below the surface and in the tenuous lunar exosphere to address the origin of water on Moon.
The lunar South Pole is especially interesting because of the lunar surface area here that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the North Pole. There is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it. In addition, South Pole region has craters that are cold traps and contain a fossil record of the early Solar System.
Chandrayaan-2 will attempt to soft land the lander -Vikram and rover- Pragyan in a high plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70° south.
What makes Chandrayaan 2 special?
1| 1st space mission to conduct a soft landing on the Moon's south polar region
2| 1st Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface with home-grown technology
3| 1st Indian mission to explore the lunar terrain with home-grown technology
4| 4th country ever to soft land on the lunar surface
Launcher and the Spacecraft
Launcher
The GSLV Mk-III is India's most powerful launcher to date, and has been completely designed and fabricated from within the country.
Orbiter
The Orbiter will observe the lunar surface and relay communication between Earth and Chandrayaan 2's Lander — Vikram.
Vikram Lander
The lander is designed to execute India's first soft landing on the lunar surface.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta0O45Rynd4&t=6s
Pragyan Rover
The rover is a 6-wheeled, AI-powered vehicle named Pragyan, which translates to 'wisdom' in Sanskrit.
Timeline of the mission
18th September, 2008
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approves the Chandrayaan2 lunar mission
Mission Planning
Launch Date
July 22, 2019
Landing on Moon
Sep 7, 2019
Scientific Experiment on Moon
1 Lunar day (14 earth days)
Orbital Experiment
Will be operational for 1 year
chandrayaan 2 status
HIGHLIGHTS
Chandrayaan 2 orbiter to take pictures of the moon for one year
Mission seen as a testatement to India's space programme
Chandrayaan 2 stood out because of its low cost
India's first attempt to land on the Moon may have gone off-script but the ambitious Chandrayaan 2 mission has been far from a flop. With a mission life of at least one year, the Chandrayaan 2 lunar orbiter remains in operation and will continue to study the Moon from afar, carrying out experiments to map the surface and study the Moon's outer atmosphere.
"Only 5 per cent of the mission has been lost - Vikram the lander and Pragyan the rover - while the remaining 95 per cent - that is the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter - is orbiting the moon successfully," an official of the Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO told news agency IANS.
The orbiter can take several pictures of the moon and send it to the ISRO over the next year. The orbiter can take pictures of the lander to find out its status too, the ISRO official added. The rover inside the lander had a lifespan of only 14 days.
The successful launch of Chandrayaan 2 on board the giant GSLV Mark 3 rocket and its insertion in the lunar orbit will be seen as a testament to India's frugal space programme. The accomplishment has been likened by experts to firing a bullet from a moving train towards a target on another moving train hundreds of thousands of kilometres apart.
The Chandrayaan 2 mission stood out because of its low cost of about $140 million. The United States spent the equivalent of more than $100 billion on its Apollo missions. The mission also holds great significance for future space exploration missions, including those to Mars.
On Saturday, contact was lost with the Moon lander Vikram just before it was due to touch down near the lunar south pole. A successful landing would have made India the fourth country -- after the United States, Russia and China -- to successfully land on the Moon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched the operation from the ISRO mission control and later asked the scientists to not "lose hope".
But following several tense minutes as the expected landing time of about 1:55 am lapsed, ISRO Chairman K Sivan announced that communication had been lost with the lander.
ISRO had acknowledged before the landing that it was a complex manoeuvre, which Dr Sivan called "15 minutes of terror".
"It is like suddenly somebody comes and gives you a newborn baby in your hands. Will you be able to hold without proper support? The baby will move this way, that way but we should hold it," he had told NDTV.
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