New Delhi:
India's second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-2 is all set to be launched on Monday, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Sivan announced. The landing on the moon near the South Pole, an uncharted territory so far, would be on September 6 or 7, Sivan told reporters here, as the Indian space agency is all set to embark on its most complex mission.
The launch would take place at 2.51 am on board the GSLV MK-III vehicle from the spaceport of Sriharikota. The ISRO had earlier kept the launch window for the mission from July 9 to July 16.
The spacecraft, with a mass of 3.8 tonne, has three modules—Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan). Sivan said Orbiter would have eight payloads, Lander three and Rover two. The mission cost of Chandrayaan-2 with regard to the satellite was Rs 603 crore, he noted. The cost of GSLV MK III is Rs 375 crore.
We are less than five hours from the historic launch of #Chandrayaan2
— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019
Meanwhile observe people being dwarfed by the 14 storey high #GSLVMkIII-M1 vehicle. pic.twitter.com/o6fEK9AxlP
According to the ISRO, Orbiter, with scientific payloads, would orbit around the moon. Lander would soft land on the moon at a predetermined site and deploy Rover.
Also Read: Ahead of Chandrayaan 2 launch, ISRO releases THIS intriguing behind-the-scenes video
The scientific payloads on board Orbiter, Lander and Rover are expected to perform mineralogical and elemental studies of the lunar surface. The Orbiter and Lander modules would be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the GSLV MK-III launch vehicle. Rover is housed inside Lander.
Here's some exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage of the mission's various components coming together - https://t.co/baOMowvWHa
— ISRO (@isro) July 14, 2019
Tell us what you think about it in the comments below. #Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO pic.twitter.com/Kguy33p2C1
After the launch into an earth-bound orbit by GSLV MK-III, the integrated module would reach the moon orbit using the orbiter propulsion module and subsequently, Lander would separate from Orbiter and soft land at the predetermined site, close to lunar South Pole, the ISRO said.
Rover would roll out for carrying out scientific experiments on the lunar surface, it said, noting that instruments were also mounted on Lander and Orbiter for carrying out scientific experiments.
Chandrayaan-2 is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission, which was launched about 10 years ago.
Chandrayaan-1 had 11 payloads—five from India, three from Europe, two from the US and one from Bulgaria—and the mission had the credit for discovery of water on the lunar surface.
The 1.4-tonne spacecraft was launched using PSLV and the orbiter had orbited 100 km from the lunar surface.
How to watch Chandrayaan-2 launch live:
People who had registered their names earlier will be able to watch the launch of Chandrayaan-2 from the viewing gallery of Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Registrations are now closed. The launch of the Chandrayaan-2 can be viewed on live streaming services too. Chandrayaan-2 launch will be streamed live by the ISRO on its social media channels - Twitter and Facebook. People can also watch the live coverage of Chandrayaan-2's launch on Doordarshan's YouTube channel. Doordarshan will also live-stream the launch of Chandrayaan-2 on DD National from ISRO's mission control room and the launch pad.
