The Lander and the Rover models made public by Isro. The lander will land on the moon and unload the rover, wh... Read More

CHENNAI: With all the key modules of Chandrayaan-2 having reached the launch site, scientists and engineers from the Indian Space Research Organisation ( Isro ) are staring at a June 28 deadline to complete the integration of the Lander (Vikram), Rover ( Pragyan ) and the Orbiter. Once this is done, the composite structure—which includes all three —will be integrated with the launch vehicle.

“All three modules are at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Orbiter fuel filling was completed on Tuesday. We are now filling fuel into the lander. As of Tuesday, leak tests were being carried out before finally filling the fuel into Vikram,” a source said.

Once these things are done, a “power-on” check on the Rover will be conducted, after which the Lander—with the Rover inside it—will be integrated with the Orbiter. “As per the schedule, the Lander and Rover integration will happen on June 28. At best, it may extend to June 29,” the source added.

Before Pragyan is integrated with Vikram, a last component on one of its payloads—the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS)—which will be used to determine the elemental composition of the lunar rocks and soil, needs to be integrated. “This is a small object, but an important one so far as APXS is concerned. This has been scheduled to be put in last keeping all the safety parameters in mind,” the source said.

After Vikram and Pragyan are integrated, the umbilical connections with the orbiter will be done. And, once this composite structure is ready and together, it will be moved to VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building).

“According to the schedule, Chandrayaan-2 should be moved to VAB by June 30 and handed over to the rocket team, which will integrated this with the GSLV-Mk III,” the source added. The GSLV-Mk III is the designated launch vehicle for the Rs 978-crore Chandrayaan-2 mission. Isro had used its workhorse, the PSLV, to put Chandrayaan-1 into the lunar orbit in 2008.

This mission, unlike Chandrayaan-1, involves a Lander soft-landing on the lunar surface and unloading a Rover to study and take measurements from the Moon, while the orbiter will go around the Earth’s satellite. Initially, the project was to be a joint mission with Russian, whose space agency Roscosmos was to supply the lander. However, that deal fell through and Isro decided to go solo.

Isro, on June 12 announced that Chandrayaan-2 will be launched at 2.51am on July 15, and 52 days after the launch from Sriharikota, Vikram will touch down on the Moon, either on September 6, or 7.

