Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to the Moon, is a totally indigenous mission comprising of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover. It envisages complex tasks like soft-landing, Rover separation and movement on the lunar surface, in addition to operations of Orbiter, informed Minister Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Several new technology elements have been developed indigenously and tests are being carried out for validation. Orbiter has completed Thermo-vacuum test which is one of the major milestones, he said.

Lander Sensors and Actuators are tested on ground to validate the performance and the results are satisfactory, while rover flight model is under assembly, said the minister. Payloads are in various stages of delivery for Spacecraft integration, he informed the House.

After reaching the 100 km lunar orbit, the Lander housing the Rover will separate from the Orbiter. After a controlled descent, the Lander will soft land on the lunar surface at a specified site and deploy a Rover, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The mission will carry a six-wheeled Rover which will move around the landing site in semi-autonomous mode as decided by the ground commands. The instruments on the rover will observe the lunar surface and send back data, which will be useful for analysis of the lunar soil.

The Chandrayaan-2 weighing around 3290 kg and would orbit around the moon and perform the objectives of remote sensing the moon. The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.

To be carried by GSLV-F10, Chandrayaan-2 Mission is planned during first half of 2018.