Quick facts
- Mission type - Lunar orbiter, lander, rover
- Operator - Indian Space Research Organisation
- Website- www.isro.gov.in/chandrayaan2-home
- Mission duration
- Orbiter: 1 year
- Vikram lander: <15 days
- Pragyan rover: <15 days
- Launch mass
- Combined (wet) - 3,850 kg
- Combined (dry) - 1,308 kg
- Payload mass
- Orbiter (wet) - 2,379 kg
- Orbiter (dry) - 682 kg
- Vikram lander (wet) - 1,471 kg
- Vikram lander (dry) - 626 kg
- Pragyan rover - 27 kg
- Power
- Orbiter - 1 kW
- Vikram lander - 650 W
- Pragyan rover - 50 W
- Launch date - 22 July 2019 14:43:12 Indian Standard Time
- Rocket - GSLV Mk III[8][9]
- Launch site - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Second Launch Pad, Sriharikota
- Orbital insertion - 20 August, 2019 (planned)
- Landing date - 7 September, 2019 (planned)
 |
| Chandrayaan-2 around the EarthBy Phoenix7777 - Own workData source: HORIZONS System, JPL, NASA, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80359079 |
 |
| Chandrayaan-2 around the MoonBy Phoenix7777 - Own workData source: HORIZONS System, JPL, NASA, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80359100 |
Earth · Moon · Chandrayaan-2
Mission objectives
The main objectives of Chandrayaan-2 are to demonstrate the ability of soft landing on the Moon's surface and to operate a robotic rover on the surface. These objectives will be accomplished by the combined effort from an orbiter, a lander and robotic rover.The orbiter will map the lunar surface and help to prepare 3D maps of it. The onboard radar will also map the surface while studying the water ice in the south polar region and thickness of the Moon's soil on the surface.
 |
| Chandrayaan-2 OrbiterBy Indian Space Research Organisation (GODL-India), GODL-India, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80159293 |
The robotic rover named 'Pragyan' has further scientific goals like studies of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice. It will also inform the location and abundance of lunar water for exploitation by the future lunar base proposed by NASA's Artemis program.
 |
| Pragyan Rover mounted on the ramp of Vikram LanderBy Indian Space Research Organisation (GODL-India), GODL-India, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80159282 |
Delay, delay, delay and even more delay!
- On 12 November 2007, representatives of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and ISRO signed an agreement. ISRO had to develop the orbiter and rover and Roscosmos had to provide the lander.
- The mission was postponed in January 2013 and rescheduled to 2016 because Russia was unable to develop the lander on time.
- Because of some technical faults, Russia was unable to provide the lander even by 2015. So India decided to develop the lunar mission independently.
- Earlier, the launch had been scheduled for March 2018, but was first delayed to April and then to October to conduct further tests on the vehicle.
- Then, the 4th Comprehensive Technical Review meeting of the programme was held on 19 June 2018, and after a series of retests and reconfigurations, the launch was scheduled in the first half of 2019.
- Then unfortunately, two of the lander's legs got minor damage during one of the tests in February 2019.
- Finally, the launch was scheduled for 14 July 2019, 21:21 UTC (15 July 2019 at 02:51 IST local time), with the landing expected on 6 September 2019. But again, the launch was aborted due to a technical glitch and was rescheduled to 22 July 2019.
- Finally after so much struggle, Chandrayaan-2 was launched onboard the GSLV MK III M1 launch vehicle on 22 July 2019 14:43 IST. Now it is expected to enter the Moon's orbit on August 20 and then land on the surface of the Moon on 7th September.
Since I have talked about all the necessary technical information, it is the time to answer some questions that you might have.
What makes this mission unique?
The launch itself has created history and if the mission's objectives are accomplished, this mission will be the first of its kind. If successful, Chandrayaan-2 will be the southernmost lunar landing, aiming at 67°S or 70°S latitude. Lunar south pole is very important because it is believed that water exists there in ice form. The closer anyone can get to the south pole, the more chances it has to discover water on moon.Another thing to note is that it consists of a lunar orbiter, lander and rover, which are all developed in India.
Also, this is one of the cheapest moon mission in the history of moon missions. As of June 2019, the mission has an allocated cost of ₹978 crore (approximately 141 million US$) which includes ₹603 crore for space segment and ₹375 crore as launch costs on GSLV Mk III. The very popular movie Avengers Endgame had a production cost of 350 million US$ and had a budget of 150 million US$ for marketing worldwide. This makes our trip to the moon even cheaper than the marketing cost of Avengers Endgame.
What is the meaning of soft landing or hard landing?
Chandrayaan-2 aims to a achieve a soft landing on the moon. Soft landing means that the Chandrayaan will land on moon in such a way that it does not get crashed or destroyed. On the other hand, hard landings are those in which the spacecraft intentionally crashes into the Moon.When a spacecraft or any object in general enters the orbit of a celestial body, it is pulled towards the surface because of its gravitational force. In order to accomplish a safe landing, the spacecraft needs to decelerate against the force of gravity. The spacecraft must decelerate to a speed of less than 100 miles per hour in order to classify as a hard landing and must decelate to less around 2 miles an hour to classify as a soft landing.
What is payload?
It is the total load or mass which is being carried by the rocket. It can be satellites, robots, computers, space probes, humans, animals or anything.For this mission, ISRO selected 8 scientific instruments for the orbiter, 4 for the lander and 2 for the rover. It also includes one small retroreflector from NASA which helps scientists to make accurate measurements of the distances to the moon and the lunar libration.
A list of all the payloads being carried can be found on ISRO's official website here.
What is wet mass and dry mass?
Dry mass is basically the total mass of the hardware components and wet mass is the mass of the fuel and oxidiser plus the hardware components. This is why wet mass is always higher than dry mass. We need to mention both of them because the wet mass keeps on reducing as the spacecraft keeps on covering distance. This distinction helps scientists to calculate the life of the spacecraft in space.What is the significance of the Chandrayaan 2 mission?
The Chandrayaan-2 mission will be a big step towards India's technological advancements and our national pride. It is a huge step forward towards our self-reliance and ingenuity. This will prove to the world that we are not a random 3rd world country. Also, more than a matter of our national pride, I believe it is a service to mankind as a whole. The success of this mission will result in a better understanding of our natural satellite which can result in even more technological advancements worldwide. In a statement, ISRO said,"While there, we will also explore discoveries made by Chandrayaan-1, such as the presence of water molecules on the Moon and new rock types with unique chemical composition. Through this mission, we aim to expand India's footprint in space, surpass international aspirations and inspire a future generation of scientists, engineers and explorers"
Hi, I am Pranjay Varshney. I am pursuing my B.Sc. (Hons) in Electronic Science from University of Delhi. My dream is to join the Indian Army as an officer and I am very passionate about it. I like to write articles about Indian Armed Forces and various political and economic affairs. I spend my free time doing gymnastics, listening to music or watching movies.
Comments
Post a Comment