Chandrayaan 2 to separate the landing module soon.
Chandrayaan 2 has successfully entered Moon’s circular orbit today. This is done after 42 days since the spacecraft left Earth.
India’s second mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan 2, recently performed the fifth lunar bound orbit operation. After traveling 3.8 lakh km from Earth to Moon, Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft entered the Moon’s orbit.
Most importantly, so far all spacecraft parameters are normal. Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft is supposed to land on Moon on September 7, 2019.
The spacecraft weighs approximately 3290 kilograms and it would launched by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-III rocket. Nicknamed as ‘Bahubali’, the GSLV Mk-III rocket which stands 43 meters tall. A total of 13 payloads are distributed across the three modules where the Orbiter and lander Vikram are stacked upon each other whereas the rover Pragyan is housed inside the lander.
The Challenge
For Chandrayaan 2, the most challenging part of the journey will begin tomorrow when the lander-rover will separate from the orbiter. After the separation, the propulsion system on-board and the indigenously developed lander will be operated for the first time. So far, all the “burns” in the Earth and Moon orbit happened with the propulsion system of the orbiter.
For the lander-rover, two more orbit lowering operations, including one to test the lander propelling system, will be performed to bring the lander-rover into a 100 x 30km orbit. This midway orbit was suggested by the group of eminent scientists that had suggested some corrections to the lander design and the orbit in 2018, resulting in the mission being pushed.
The lander will land near the Moon’s South Pole and then it will then carry out experiments on Moon’s surface for 1 Lunar day. A single lunar day is equal to 14 Earth days. However, the orbiter will continue its mission for a duration of one year.
