Chandrayaan 2 Successfully Enters Lunar OrbitJust In

August 20, 2019 14:11
Chandrayaan 2 Successfully Enters Lunar Orbit

(Image source from: India Today)

The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft successfully entered lunar orbit on August 20, ISRO announced.

According to Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) maneuvre was accomplished at 0902 (9 a.m.) hours as planned, using the craft's onboard propulsion system.

"The duration of the maneuvre was 1,738 seconds. With this, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into a lunar orbit," Isro said.

Following this, a series of orbit maneuvers will be carried out, in order to enable the spacecraft to get into its final orbit, passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon's surface. Subsequently, the lander will be apart from the orbiter and get into a 100 km X 30 km orbit around the Moon. It will then carry out a series of complex braking maneuvres to soft-land in the south polar region of the Moon on September 7.

The robustness of the spacecraft is being monitored around-the-clock from the Mission Operations Complex at Isro's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bengaluru, with the support of Indian Deep Space Network antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru.

The next lunar-bound orbit maneuvre is scheduled on August 21, between 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm.

                       (Image source from: The News Minute)

“This mission will help us gain a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the Moon by conducting detailed topographical studies, comprehensive mineralogical analyses, and a host of other experiments on the lunar surface. [...] While there, we will also explore discoveries made by Chandrayaan 1, such as the presence of water molecules on the Moon and new rock types with unique chemical composition,” a statement from ISRO said.

The Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22 by a GSLV MkIII-M1 vehicle and had entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory on 14 August.

According to ISRO, Chandrayaan 2, which comprises an orbiter, lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyaan), will also emphasize on till now unexplored sections of the Moon's South Polar region. The mission life of the orbiter will be one year, whereas the mission life of the lander and rover will be one lunar day, equivalent to fourteen earth days.

By Sowmya Sangam

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