Chennai: The Indian Space Agency is all set to make history, when its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, carrying an Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan) as payloads, will be launched tomorrow at 2.51 am from the second launch pad from the spaceport of Sriharikota. The 20-hour countdown for the lift-off of India’s heavy rocket nicknamed ‘Bahubali’ carrying the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft began at 6.51 am on Sunday, a top official of the Indian space agency said.
The launch will take place using the heaviest home grown rocket, three-stage Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV Mk-III), capable of launching 4-ton class of satellites to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
Chandrayaan-2 is on a mission unlike any before. Leveraging nearly a decade of scientific research and engineering development, the second lunar expedition will shed light on a completely unexplored section of the Moon–its South Polar region, a site not explored by any country yet, ISRO sources said. Only Russia, the United States and China have soft-landed on the moon. A full dress rehearsal of the launch was conducted at the SHAR Range ahead of the launch.
Reason for mission
This mission will help ISRO gain a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the Moon by conducting detailed topographical studies, comprehensive mineralogical analyses, and a host of other experiments on the lunar surface. It would 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, ISRO aims to expand India’s footprint in space, inspire a future generation of scientists, engineers and explorers and surpass international aspirations.
What happens after launch?
After its launch, Chandrayaan-2 will be injected into an earth parking 170 x 40,400 km orbit. A series of maneuvers will be carried out to raise its orbit and put Chandrayaan-2 on Lunar Transfer Trajectory. On entering Moon’s sphere of influence, on-board thrusters will slow down the spacecraft for Lunar Capture. The Orbit of Chandrayaan-2 around the moon will be circularised to 100×100 km orbit through a series of orbital maneuvers.
On the day of landing, the lander will separate from the Orbiter and then perform a series of complex maneuvers comprising of rough braking and fine braking. Imaging of the landing site region prior to landing will be done for finding safe and hazard-free zones. The lander-Vikram will finally land near South Pole of the moon on 6 September and subsequently, Rover will roll out and carry out experiments on Lunar surface for a period of one Lunar day which is equal to 14 Earth days. The Orbiter will continue its mission for a duration of one year.
What are the payloads?
Chandrayaan-2 has several science payloads to expand the lunar scientific knowledge through detailed study of topography, seismography, mineral identification and distribution, surface chemical composition, thermo-physical characteristics of top soil and composition of the tenuous lunar atmosphere, leading to a new understanding of the origin and evolution of the Moon.
The Orbiter payloads will conduct remote-sensing observations from a 100 km, orbit while the Lander and Rover payloads will perform in-situ measurements near the landing site. For understanding of the Lunar composition, it was planned to identify the elements and mapping its distribution on the lunar surface both at global and In-situ level. In addition detailed 3-dimensional mapping of the lunar regolith will be done.
Measurements on the near surface plasma environment and electron density in the Lunar ionosphere will be studied. Thermo-physical property of the lunar surface and seismic activities will also be measured along with study of water molecule distribution using infra red spectroscopy, synthetic aperture radiometry and polarimetry as well as mass spectroscopy techniques.