Chandrayaan-2 Launch: It’s a proud moment for every Indian as one of the most ambitious space-based mission of India, Chandrayaan-2, finally took flight. This mission is going to attempt to explore the south polar region of the Moon, a region until now unexplored by any of the nations.
ISRO chief K Sivan in a statement said, “I’m extremely happy to announce that the GSLVMkIII-M1 successfully injected Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft into Earth Orbit. It is the beginning of a historic journey of India towards the moon and to land at a place near the South Pole to carry out scientific experiments.”
About Chandrayaan-2 Launch
Chandrayaan-2 is second lunar exploration mission of India after Chandrayaan-1. The talented and well-determined team of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is behind the development of this project.
The mission was launched on 22 July 2019 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre’s second launch pad at 2.43 PM IST (09:13 UTC) to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III).
Chandrayaan-2 Mission Details
The main objectives of Chandrayaan-2 for which it was specially developed are as follows:
- To exhibit the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface along with operating a robotic rover on the surface.
- Scientific goals comprise of studies of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, as well as the signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.
These studies are going to be performed by the lander, named ‘Vikram’, after the space luminary, Dr. Vikram A Sarabhai, who headed promising space program in India.
The space mission is also going to help us to understand our natural satellite better, through complex topographical studies, as well as comprehensive mineralogical analysis.
Chandrayaan-2 Design
The payload comprises the terrain mapping cameras in order to prepare a 3D map of the projected area. On the other hand, a collimated large array soft x-ray spectrometer is going to map the majority of main rock-forming components. High-resolution images of the landing site will be captured by an orbiter high-resolution camera.
There is also an imaging infrared spectrometer which will identify minerals along with signatures of hydroxyl (OH) as well water (H2O) molecules in polar regions.
ISRO said in a statement, “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”,
Congrats to @ISRO on the launch of Chandrayaan 2, a mission to study the Moon. We're proud to support your mission comms using our Deep Space Network and look forward to what you learn about the lunar South pole where we will send astronauts on our #Artemis mission in a few years pic.twitter.com/dOcWBX3kOE
— NASA (@NASA) July 22, 2019
Delayed Yet Undeterred
Initially, the launch of Chandrayaan-2 was scheduled for 14 July 2019 at 21:21 UTC (15 July 2019 2:51 IST) but then later it was called off because of a technical hitch noticed just about 56 minutes before launch. It was then finally launched on 22 July 2019 14:43 IST (09:13 UTC) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota located in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
Indian at heart, Indian in spirit!
What would make every Indian overjoyed is the fact that #Chandrayaan2 is a fully indigenous mission.
It will have an Orbiter for remote sensing the Moon and also a Lander-Rover module for analysis of lunar surface.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 22, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 Achievement
The mission is also very important not only for ISRO but for the nation as a successful landing would make India the fourth leading country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon. Before India, the other space agencies such as USSR, USA, and China made this achievement. If the mission got successful, Chandrayaan-2 is going to be the southernmost lunar landing, which is aiming at 67°S or 70°S latitude.
