The second ambitious moon mission of India, Chandrayaan-2 will be launched in the month of July and is expected to land on the moon in September, said the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The lander, orbiter and rover modules are being prepared for the Chandrayaan-2 mission that will be launched between July 9-16 and is expected to land on the moon on 6 September, said the Indian space agency in a statement.
The lander and orbiter modules will be arranged as a unified module and accommodated within the advanced Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV MK-III), which will be housed inside the lander.
After the GSLV MK-III is launched in the earth-bound orbit from Sriharikota, the unified module will get to the moon’s orbit with the help of orbiter propulsion module. It will take about 45 to 50 days for the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to complete the journey from our planet to the moon.
Once the rocket enters into the moon orbit, the lander will separate from orbiter and make a soft-landing near the moon’s South Pole. Next, the rover will conduct scientific experiments on moon’s surface. Instruments have also been installed on the lander as well as orbiter to conduct scientific experiments, ISRO said.
Notably, Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, the first moon mission of the country, was launched in the year 2008. However, though the communication with Chandrayaan-1 was unfortunately lost the following year, the spacecraft by then had achieved 95 percent of its expected goals.
Deepali Sharma
Deepali has worked as an editor for various print-based magazines for more than 5 years. She brings together substantial news pieces from Science/Environment niche.
