Chandrayaan-2: ISRO gears up to launch second sojourn to the moon

ISRO is all set to launch its low-cost mission to become the only fourth country to land a probe on the Moon as the countdown begins with the renewed interest.

Just five days before the 50th anniversary of man's first lunar landing, Chandrayaan-2 or Moon Chariot 2 will blast off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh state on July 15 at 2.51 am after a decade-long build-up.

The mission will also highlight how far space travel has advanced since Neil Armstrong's giant leap for mankind during the Apollo 11 mission.

(Image Courtesy: www.isro.gov.in)

 

India has spent about $140 million to get Chandrayaan-2 ready for the 384,400 kilometers (around 240,000 miles) trip from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre to the scheduled landing on the lunar South Pole on September 6.

(Image Courtesy: www.isro.gov.in)

Almost the entire Chandrayaan-2's orbiter, lander, and rover have been designed and made in India.

India will use its most powerful rocket launcher, GSLV Mk III, to carry the 2.4-tonne orbiter, which has a mission life of about a year.

The spacecraft will carry the 1.4-tonne lander Vikram which in turn will take the 27-kilogram (60-pound) rover Pragyan to a high plain between two craters on the lunar South Pole. 

(Image Courtesy: www.isro.gov.in)

 

This will be India's first attempt to land on the moon and the rover will go to the moon's south pole where no country has gone before.

(Image Courtesy: www.isro.gov.in)

Chandrayaan-2 is the successor mission of Chandrayaan-1 which was India's first mission to the moon. It operated for almost a year (between October 2008 and August 2009). The lunar orbiter is best known for helping to discover evidence of water molecules on the moon.
 

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K. Sivan said Vikram's 15-minute final descent "will be the most terrifying moments as we have never undertaken such a complex mission".

The solar-powered rover can travel up to 500 meters (yards) and is expected to work for one lunar day, the equivalent of 14 Earth days.

Sivan said the probe will be looking for signs of water and "a fossil record of the early solar system".

(Image Courtesy: www.isro.gov.in)

Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, head of space policy at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi think tank, said Chandrayaan-2 will enhance the nation's reputation 'at a time when the global and particularly, the Asian space programs are becoming increasingly competitive'.

Amitabha Ghosh, a scientist for NASA's Rover mission to Mars, said the benefits of Chandrayaan-2 are huge, compared to its cost.

(Image Courtesy: www.isro.gov.in)

India's second Moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, has evoked great interest in Western media and scientific journals, with many saying the mission that costs less than half of the budget of Hollywood blockbuster "Avengers Endgame" will put India in league with lunar pioneers, the US, Russia and China.

While Chandrayaan 2’s total cost is Rs 978 crore or $142,651,080 ($142 million) which includes Rs 603 crore mission cost and Rs 375 crore for its launch; the cost of GSLV MK III, recently released Hollywood movie Avengers: Endgame was made in a massive budget of $356 million or Rs 2,443 crore. 
 

President Ram Nath Kovind will be among the top dignitaries to witness the historic launch of India's biggest space mission, Chandrayaan-2 at Sriharikota. According to the sources, he will come to Satish Dhawan Space Centre along with his family members from Tirupati airport.

President Kovind will become the third Indian president after APJ Abdul Kalam and Pranab Mukherjee to witness the incredible live lift-off of a rocket.

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