Chandrayaan-2 Launch Highlights: Launch successful, landing on moon first week of Sep
New Delhi, July 22: ISRO launched Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon at sharp 2.43 pm on Monday. The GSLV-Mk-3 blasted off from Satish Dhawan Space Station in Sriharikota with 3,290 kilograms payload. ISRO chief K Sivan announced that spacecraft which consists of orbitor, Vikram and Pragyan has been sucessfully placed in designated orbit.
This is the most technically complex mission undertaken ever by ISRO. Of course Gaganyaan, which would be far more complex will follow in 2022, but for now Chandrayaan-2 is the most complex ISRO mission till date.
illed as the most complex mission undertaken by the ISRO, Chandrayaan-2 will make India the fourth country to soft land a rover on the lunar surface after Russia, the United States and China.
Stay tuned with us for all the LIVE updates relating to the launch:
#Chandrayaan2 is unique because it will explore and perform studies on the south pole region of lunar terrain which is not explored and sampled by any past mission.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 22, 2019
This mission will offer new knowledge about the Moon.
Indian at heart, Indian in spirit!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 22, 2019
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.
Special moments that will be etched in the annals of our glorious history!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 22, 2019
The launch of #Chandrayaan2 illustrates the prowess of our scientists and the determination of 130 crore Indians to scale new frontiers of science.
Every Indian is immensely proud today! pic.twitter.com/v1ETFneij0
#GSLVMkIII-M1 successfully injects #Chandrayaan2 spacecraft into Earth Orbit
— ISRO (@isro) July 22, 2019
Here's the view of #Chandrayaan2 separation#ISRO pic.twitter.com/GG3oDIxduG
#ISRO#GSLVMkIII-M1 lifts-off from Sriharikota carrying #Chandrayaan2
— ISRO (@isro) July 22, 2019
Our updates will continue. pic.twitter.com/oNQo3LB38S
What went wrong with the Chandrayaan-2 launch:
A leak of helium gas from a bottle in the cryogenic upper stage of the rocket was the villain of the piece on July 15.
The leak forced the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to cancel the launch of its Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III). It was a prestigious mission for ISRO because it involved putting the spacecraft Chandrayaan-2, with the lander, called Vikram, and a rover, named Pragyan, into an orbit around the moon.
Cost of the mission:
The cost of Chandrayaan-2 mission is Rs 978 crore, including Rs 603 crore for the orbiter, lander, rover, navigation and ground support network and Rs 375 crore for the heavy rocket -- Geo-stationary Satellite Launch Vehicle with an indigenous cryogenic engine
Where did Chandrayaan-1 leave us?
Chandrayaan-1 was India's first mission to the Moon and lasted for 312 days before the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) lost contact with it. The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) found it in 2017 still orbiting the Moon.
Chandrayaan-1 detected water molecules on the surface of the Moon in its maiden mission.
Chandrayaan-2 is aimed at sampling the water as well as other minerals, Nayak added.
According to mission scientists, global interest in India's low-cost Moon mission is peaking.
In 2014, ISRO successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming only the fourth nation to do so. In 2017, India created history by successfully launching 104 satellites on a single mission, overtaking the previous record of 37 satellites launched by Russia.
If Chandrayaan 2 is successfully placed in the lunar orbit and its components fulfill the objectives then it would not only help us understand the Moon better but also create background knowledge to transform it into a staging area. From here, future human missions to explore far-off planetary bodies can be launched.