Chandrayaan 2 mission will include three modules along with the rocket, namely the Orbiter, the Lander, and the Rover.
Chandrayaan 2: India’s biggest space mission to explore the Moon’s surface, the Chandrayaan 2, is scheduled to launch in the wee hours of July 15, 2019, from Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota Island. The launch will take place on a ‘Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III of ISRO. The Chandrayaan 2 mission is set to explore the south polar region of the Moon which is also known as the Dark Side of the Moon due to the absence of sunlight in and around the craters of the Lunar Polar surface.
Chandrayaan 2 mission will include three modules along with the rocket, namely the Orbiter, The Lander ‘Vikram, and the Rover Pragyaan. The trajectory of the mission has been planned to place the Orbitor in the Moon’s orbit through a series of orbital expansion and maneuvers. The launcher will then make its way to the polar region of the Moon in the next phase of the mission and release the rover on the Moon’s surface for scientific data collection.
Chandrayaan 2 lander Vikram, rover Pragyaan and other important facts
The Lander of the Chandrayaan 2 has been named after the father of the Indian Space Programme, Dr. Vikram A Sarabhai. The life span of Vikram is one lunar day which is equivalent to 14 Earth days. Vikram has the capability to communicate with The Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu near Bangalore according to ISRO’s website. Vikram can communicate with the Rover and the Orbiter too.
It is widely being asked about how the Lander ‘Vikram’ will soft-land the rover ‘Pragyaan’ on Moon’s South Polar region. The ISRO website suggests that ‘Vikram’ the landing module of Chandrayaan 2 has a weight of 1471 kg and a capability to generate 650 W of electric power. It will carry key payloads which include a camera, seismometer, Langmuir probe, thermal profiler, and a NASA-supplied laser retro-reflector, according to information available on the NASA website. Vikram has been designed to execute a soft landing on the Moon’s surface.
The rocket GSLV Mark III will inject Chandrayaan 2 into its designated orbit which is known as the Earth’s Parking (170×40400 Km) Orbit (EPO) which will be followed by a series of maneuvers to raise the orbit and put Chandrayaan 2 on the Lunar Transfer Trajectory with the help of onboard thrusters. The orbiter will then be placed around the Moon in a 100 x 100 Km orbit through a series of orbital maneuvers. This is how the orbiter will be placed above the Moon.
On the day of landing, the lander ‘Vikram’ will detach from the orbiter and perform a series of complex actions comprising of rough braking and fine braking. The site of the landing will be imaged beforehand, in order to find safe and hazard-free zones to make the landing safe. The Chandrayaan 2 lander Vikram will finally land near the south pole of the Moon on September 6, 2019. The rover ‘Pragyaan’ will roll out the lander to inspect the Moon’s surface and collect scientific data.
One of the most complex missions attempted to date, Chandrayaan 2 weighs 3.8-tonne and consists of an orbiter with eight scientific experiments, a lander with three experiments, a rover with two experiments, and an experiment from the US space agency NASA.
Where did Moon come from? ISRO`s intriguing tweet ahead of Chandrayaan 2 launch?
Ahead of the launch of the much-awaited Chandrayaan 2, India's second lunar mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) posted a tweet around one of the most baffling scientific debates in the world: the origin of the Moon.
Chandrayaan 2, the Indian lunar mission, will go to Moon`s south polar region where no country has ever gone before
Where Did Moon come from? tweeted the space agency along with an image, explaining the four existing theories behind Moon's origin. The theories are:
1. Fission Theory
The Earth's rotational speed caused the Moon to split from the planet, while its gravitational pull anchored this fragment to become our natural satellite.
2. Giant Impact Hypothesis
A collision between the Earth and another celestial body caused a segment of the planet to break off and become the Moon.
3. Co-accretion Theory
A single cloud of gas created the Moon and the Earth while orbiting a black hole.
4. Capture Theory
The Moon was an untethered object before it was captured by the Earth's gravitational field during a fly-by.
Which of these theories is correct? asks ISRO, adding, “Is there a fifth alternative that no one else has considered?"
We are looking to find the answer to these questions and more through Chandrayaan 2 — the world’s first mission to the Moon’s south polar region! CHANDRAYAAN 2 will uncover these answers and more! tweeted ISRO.
First Images Of India's "Bahubali" Rocket That Will Launch Chandrayaan-2
The first images of India's heaviest rocket, referred to as "Baahubali", have been released by the ISRO just days before it ferries India's Chandrayaan-2 into space.
This will be the fourth launch of India's heaviest launcher.
If India succeeds in a soft landing on the moon, it will become the fourth country to do so after the US, Russia, and China. Earlier this year, Israel failed in its maiden attempt to soft-land on the moon through Beresheet spacecraft, which crashed after reaching very close to the moon surface.
The Indian space agency carried out a full dress rehearsal of the launch.
India launched its first moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, in 2008. It was an orbiter where India was the captain and there were several global players like the USA, Britain, Bulgaria, and the European Space Agency. It cost Rs. 450 crores and was launched using India's workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in 2008.
As Chandrayaan-2 Lifts Off Sunday Night, President Will Be At Sriharikota
India's most ambitious space mission yet, Chandrayaan-2, which hopes to place a robotic rover on the moon, will be launched on July 15. President Ram Nath Kovind will witness the launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-3 from India's only spaceport at Sriharikota.
He will be the third sitting president to witness a live launch from the spaceport. ISRO Chairman Dr. K Sivan had met President Kovind on June 21 and extended an invite to him.
Earlier, in 2005, President APJ Abdul Kalam witnessed a rocket launch from the Mission Control Center at Sriharikota when the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C-6 lifted off to place the Cartosat-1 satellite in orbit and also inaugurated second launch pad at India's rocket port.
In 2013, President Pranab Mukherjee witnessed the lift-off of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-20 which lifted the Saral satellite on February 25. President Pratibha Patil visited Sriharikota in January 2012 to inaugurate the Mission Control Center, but she did not witness a launch. Several prime ministers including former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and PM Modi have witnessed live launches in recent years.
This is a robotic mission and will carry no human beings to the moon's surface.
If India succeeds, it will be a huge achievement for space agency ISRO that has a budget almost 20 times less than US space agency NASA.
0 Comments