



One of the most ambitious space-based mission Chandrayan-2 took flight on 23rd July 2019. The mission will attempt to explore the south polar region of the moon. It’s an unexplored region by any country.





The space research activities were initiated in India during the early 1960s when applications using satellites were in experimental stages even in the United States.



With the live transmission of Tokyo Olympic Games across the pacific by the American satellite ‘Syncom-3’ demonstrating the power of communication satellite, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of Indian space programme, quickly recognized the benefits of space technologies for India.







The journey of Chandrayaan 2 will be conducted on the moon for 14 Earth days by the lander and rover. The orbiter will be operational for a year.





What is Chandrayaan 2?





Chandrayaan is an amalgamation of Chandra – moon, and yaan – vehicle.





Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first unmanned mission which was launched n October 2008. Chandrayaan 2 is the second unmanned mission which launched almost after a decade since the first mission by ISRO. The ambitions with the second moon mission are understandably greater.





T he slow, round-about route that Chalndrayaan-2 will follow to reach the moon reflects the power of the Indian rocket used to launch the spacecraft, called the geosynchronous satellite launch Vehicle Mark- III.









Before knowing more about Chandrayaan- 2 lets under more Indian space programme





The space research activities were initiated in India during the early 1960’s, when applications using satellites were in experimental stages even in the United States.

With the live transmission of Tokyo Olympic Games across the pacific by the American satellite ‘Syncom-3’ demonstrating the power of communication satellite, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of Indian space programme, quickly recognised the benefits of space technologies for India.





As a first step, the Department of Atomic Energy formed the INCOSPAR (Indian Committee for Space Research) under the leadership of Dr. Sarabhai and Dr. Ramanathan in 1962.





ISRO – The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was later formed in August 15, 1969. The primary objective of ISRO is to develop space technology and its application to various national needs. It is one of the six largest space agencies in the world.





The Department of Space (DOS) and the space commission were set up in 1972 and ISRO was brought under DOS in 1972.





Since inception, the India space program has been orchestrated well and had three distinct elements such as satellite for communication and remote sensing, the space transportation system and application programs.





Two major operational systems have been established- the Indian National satellite (INSAT) for telecommunication, television broadcasting, and meteorological services and the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) for monitoring and management of natural resources and Disaster Management Support.

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The objective of Chandrayaan 2

One of the primary objective of Chandrayaan to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface this will be the first time any mission touched down so far from the equator.





And the scientific objective is to conduct the study of lunar topography, mineralogy, element abundance, the lunar exosphere and signs for hydroxyl – a molecule involving hydrogen and oxygen which has among other things, significance when it comes to the search for extraterrestrial life – and water ice on the lunar surface.









What is a soft landing?

A soft landing is a technical term to indicate a landing technique that prevents any kind of damage to sensitive instruments on-board. Hard landings are those where damage to the raft or instruments occurs when an aircraft crash lands.





What makes Chandrayaan 2 difference than Chandrayaan 1?





Chandrayaan 2 mission has different objectives which were not part of Chandrayaan-1, so it makes the mission quite relevant. According to ISRO, in addition to being only the fourth nation (after the US, Russia and China) to be attempting a soft landing on the lunar surface, Chandrayaan 2 will achieve lots of firsts.





Chandrayaan 2 will be the first space mission to conduct a soft landing on the Moon's south polar region.

Chandrayaan 2 will be the first Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface with home-grown technology.

Chandrayaan 2 will be the first Indian mission to explore the lunar terrain with home-grown technology.





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Chandrayaan 1

Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft carried 11 scientific instruments weighed about 1380 kg at the time of its launch and is shaped like a cuboid with a solar panel projecting from one of its sides. The state of the art subsystems of the spacecraft, some of them miniaturized, facilitate the safe and efficient functioning of its 11 scientific instruments.





The spacecraft was powered by a single solar panel, generating a maximum of 700 W. A 36 Ampere-Hour (Ah) Lithium-ion battery supplies power when the solar panel is not illuminated by the sun. To make Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft escape from orbiting the earth and travel towards the moon, its Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) is used. Liquid propellants needed for LAM as well as thrusters are stored onboard the spacecraft. Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft’s Dual Gimballed Antenna transmits the precious scientific data gathers by its eleven scientific instruments to earth.





Cost of Chandrayaan 2





The total cost of building and testing the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, lander, and rover is Rs 603 crores, according to ISRO chief Dr Sivan. This does not include the cost of building the GSLV-Mk-III rocket. While the Cost of Chandrayaan-1 mission was Rs 386 crore and this includes Rs 100 crore for the establishment of Indian Deep Space Network.





Bhim _UPI - 526683880@icici







