india

Updated: May 31, 2020 19:50 IST

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the country’s ambitious moon mission Chandrayaan-2 on Monday in what the agency has said will be its most challenging venture.

Chandrayaan-2 will land where nobody else has gone before — the moon’s south polar region.

Here are these reasons which make it special:

* It is the first space mission to conduct a soft landing on the moon’s south polar region

* It will be the first Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface with indigenous technology

* It will be the first Indian mission to explore the lunar terrain with home-grown technology

* With Chandrayaan-2, India will become the fourth country ever to soft land on the lunar surface

* The three-stage Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV Mk-III), which will carry Chandrayaan 2 to its designated orbit, is India’s most powerful launcher to date. It is capable of launching four ton class of satellites to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

* India’s second lunar expedition will shed light on a completely unexplored section of the moon’s south polar region based on nearly a decade of scientific research and engineering development.

* Chandrayaan-2’s integrated module, which comprises technology and software developed across the country, includes ISRO’s GSLV Mk-III and a wholly indigenous rover Pragyan or wisdom in Sanskrit.

Also read: Chandrayaan-2, India’s second moon mission, to be launched on July 15