Chandrayaan 2: India Launched Its Second Moon Mission on Monday, July 22
Sriharikota: Indias second Moon mission Chandrayaan-2 lifts off onboard GSLV Mk III-M1 launch vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, Monday, July 22, 2019. ISRO had called off the launch on July 15 after a technical snag was detected ahead of the lift-off.
On 22nd July, Chandrayaan 2 mission launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India after a little delay due to the technical problem. However, on 7th September it is expected that it will touch the moon surface.
Chandrayaan 2 is the successor of Chandrayaan 1 which was launched by Indian Space Research Organization in 2008. However, the main aim of Chandrayaan was an orbiter and an impactor which slammed into the lunar surface. Thus, there was the release of a cloud of debris which included water vapor which proved that there is water on the moon.
However, the aim of Chandrayaan is higher, along with an orbiter, a Lander called Vikram and there will be a small rover called Pragyan. Both of them are designed in such a way that they will last for one lunar day which is equal to 14 earth days.
If the way everything planned goes accordingly then the Lander will touch down between the two craters that are near the South Pole. Here, it will liberate to roll off as well as explore. Further, its sic wheels will permit its trundle to go 1 centimeter per second and it will go around the lunar surface to study about the chemical dust present there.
Lander has the seismometer to study about the moon-quakes and also will measure the thermal properties of the lunar surface. However, this instrument will also measure the moon’s tenuous atmosphere and with the NASA special mirror, it will measure the distance between the moon and the earth. However, the orbiter has the instrument to measure the map of moon surface and also its environment.
After the US, USSR, and China, if this soft landing on the moon becomes successful then India will the fourth nation to complete it. This is crucial because the south pole of the moon has water ice which makes it a promising target for human exploration.
