Chandrayaan-2 : Second successful moon mission of India

Chandrayaan-2: Expanding the boundaries of human knowledge

As we all know that India has reached very far in Aerospace Engineering, lately  India successfully completed its second moon mission named Chandrayaan 2 after the successful completion of Chandrayaan 1. It is developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and all types of equipment of Chandrayaan-2 are made in India.

What is Chandrayaan 2?

Chandrayaan-2  is India’s second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1. Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the mission was launched from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 22 July 2019 at 2.43 PM IST (09:13 UTC) to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III). It consists of a lunar orbiter, a lander, and a lunar rover named Pragyan, all of which were developed in India. The main scientific objective is to map the location and abundance of lunar water. [According to Wikipedia]

How much fuel used in Chandrayaan 2?

Chandrayaan is carrying 2562 kgs of Fuel to the Moon.

Chandrayaan-2 Launched Date

Chandrayaan-2 was launched to the moon on 22^nd of July 2019 from the Second Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre that is situated in Sriharikota of Nellore District in Andhra Pradesh. Although Chandrayaan-2 was about to launch on 15^th July 2019 due to some technical issue during filling the cryogenic engine of the rocket with helium about 1 hour prior to launch, it was scheduled for 22^nd July.

Chandrayaan-2 was launch by a rocket named GSLV Mk III (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III).

Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and ISRO Agreement

In 2007 Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and ISRO had signed an agreement to work together on the project of Chandrayaan -2. In which ISRO had the responsibility to make the orbiter and rover and Roscosmos was assigned to provide the lander. On which the Indian government approved the funding on 18 September 2008 during the tenure of Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh. Both countries conducted a joint review on the completion of the design of the spacecraft.

Russia couldn’t develop the lander on time so India had to postpone the mission in January 2013. Due to Russia’s failure in the Fobos-Grunt mission to Mars, ROSCOSMOS withdrew its responsibility to develop the lander because many of the technical aspects were used in Chandrayaan-2, which was same as the many of the technologies used in ROSCOSMOS’s Fobos-Grunt mission to Mars. This might be the reason for Russia’s withdrawal from the Chandrayaan- 2 mission. India then thought to develop the spacecraft for lunar mission solely and later on after years of effort and dedication. India got success.

The aim behind The Chandrayaan-2

The prominent motive of launching Chandrayaan- 2 is to draft the actual location and sufficiency of the Lunar Water. Chandrayaan-2 has the main objective to demonstrate the capability of soft landing on the lunar surface of  Moon and to conduct the operation of observation of Moon’s surface, which will provide the important information about lunar topography, elemental abundance, mineralogy, lunar exosphere, signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.

India will become the fourth country to make the soft landing on the moon after the USA, China, and Russia if the Chandrayaan-2 succeeds completely.

Structure of Chandrayaan-2

Chandrayaan-2 was launched with a GSLV Mk III (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III) with a weight of 3,850 kg and its manufacturing cost is approximately ₹978 crore. This budget is allocated in two segments, first, ₹375 crores were spent on the launch (i.e. on GSLV Mk III) and the second segment is allocated on space segment.

Chandrayaan- 2 consists of the following segments in it

• Orbiter

An orbiter is a space probe that orbits a planet or other astronomical object.

• Vikram lander

Vikram Lander is a machine that would help the Pragyan Rover to soft-land on the lunar surface. It was named Vikram after the name of former ISRO chairman Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai is known as the father of Indian Space Programme.

• Pragyan Rover

Pragyan Rover will conduct the operation of observation of Moon’s surface, which will provide important information about lunar topography, elemental abundance, mineralogy, lunar exosphere, signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.

Chandrayaan-2 Facts: What makes Chandrayaan 2 special?

First Moon image captured by Chandrayaan-2

First Moon image captured by #Chandrayaan2 #VikramLander taken at a height of about 2650 km from the Lunar surface on August 21, 2019. Mare Orientale basin and Apollo craters are identified in the picture.

Take a look at the first Moon image captured by #Chandrayaan2 #VikramLander taken at a height of about 2650 km from Lunar surface on August 21, 2019.

Mare Orientale basin and Apollo craters are identified in the picture.#ISRO pic.twitter.com/ZEoLnSlATQ

— ISRO (@isro) August 22, 2019

Did You Know?

There’s one thing we can’t measure here though — the hopes and dreams of millions of Indians riding on #Chandrayaan2! #ISRO #MoonMission pic.twitter.com/8LGFuf4Lfy

— ISRO (@isro) August 16, 2019

Congratulations to the 18,000 people who got it right! Stick around for more interesting polls and quizzes.#Chandrayaan2 #ISRO #MoonMission pic.twitter.com/oFqr1amxMv

— ISRO (@isro) August 13, 2019

Conclusion

The Chandrayaan-2 project of ISRO has made India take a stand among the most developed countries in the world. India’s aerospace science has reached a new level and many countries still dream to do so as India has done. Chandryaan-2 mission is a role model to represent India’s development around the world. We are very thankful that we have those excellent scientists who made it possible on such a low budget. Their efficiency and dedication made it possible that India is being recognized as a superpower in the world. We wish all ISRO families that they get succeed in the last stage of the landing of Chandrayaan-2.

Hope You Like this Information! Feel free to share it with your friends and family.

Image and Content Source: ISRO