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![]() by Staff Writers New Delhi (Sputnik) May 20, 2019
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has started to offer details about its most ambitious space mission to date, Chandrayaan 2, in bits and pieces, indicating that the agency is known for cost-effective launches among satellite-makers and may not delay the second lunar mission any further. ISRO has announced that all the modules are being prepared for the launch of Chandrayaan-2 during the window of 9 July to July 16, 2019, with an expected Moon landing on 6 September 2019. The Chandrayaan-2 mission is a sequel to the successful Chandrayaan-1 mission, that assisted in confirming the presence of water on the moon in 2009. So far, only Russia, the US, and China have undertaken the 384,600 km (239,000 mile) journey and landed spacecraft on the moon. Earlier this year, Israel made an unsuccessful attempt to join the elite club, but its mission failed.
First-Ever Landing at South Pole The Rover is housed inside the Lander. ISRO hopes to land modules near the south pole of the moon, below a latitude of 70 degrees, a location no other country has explored before. In the most complex mission ever undertaken by ISRO, it will deploy a rover on the lunar surface. After reaching a 100 km (62 mile) lunar orbit, the lander will softly land on the lunar surface and deploy a rover, while the orbiter will continue to orbit around the moon. "After launch into Earth-bound orbit by GSLV MK-III, the integrated module will reach Moon orbit using the Orbiter propulsion module. Subsequently, Lander will separate from the Orbiter and soft land at the predetermined site, close to the lunar South Pole," ISRO said. Chandrayaan -2 will carry 13 Indian Payloads (8 on orbiter, 3 on lander and two on Rover) and one passive experiment from the US space agency NASA. The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, the abundance of elements, the lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.
More Complex than NASA's Apollo Mission ISRO emphasised that the mission will expand India's footprint in space. "The Moon is a perfect test bed for providing technologies required for future space exploration as well as in-situ resource utilisation," ISRO added. Notably, the success rate for lunar landing missions is less than 50%, as 27 of the 47 lunar landings attempted have failed. ISRO has already tested a model of the small (25 kg) Chandrayaan-2 rover for lunar-gravity operations for months.
Last-Moment Changes
Total Cost of the Mission Chandrayaan-2 was originally envisaged and approved by the Indian Government in September 2008 at a cost of approximately $92 million, excluding cost of GSLV rocket and Lander.
Foreign Partners
Indian-Made Content
First Mission Source: RIA Novosti
![]() ![]() Study finds new Luna wrinkles Pasadena CA (JPL) May 14, 2019 Billions of years ago, Earth's Moon formed vast basins called "mare" (pronounced MAR-ay)*. Scientists have long assumed these basins were dead, still places where the last geologic activity occurred long before dinosaurs roamed Earth. But a survey of more than 12,000 images reveals that at least one lunar mare has been cracking and shifting as much as other parts of the Moon - and may even be doing so today. The study adds to a growing understanding that the Moon is an actively changing world. ... read more
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