The India Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in July is planning to launch a triple-threat mission to the Moon. The Chandrayaan-2 mission, will launch July 14 at 5:51 p.m. EDT (2151 GMT).
The Chandrayaan-2 mission will include an orbiter, a lander "Vikram" and a rover "Pragyan".
After launch, Chandrayaan-2 will spend about 16 days orbiting Earth, raising its orbit slowly over time before heading to the moon, the Times of India reported. It should take the mission about five days to reach the moon, after which Chandryaan-2 will spend 27 days in lunar orbit before releasing the Vikram lander.
If all goes well, Vikram will touch down near the moon's south pole on Sept. 6 in what promises to be a harrowing 15-minute landing sequence, ISRO officials have said.
"The 15-minute operation - in which Vikram makes the final descent and soft-lands - will be the most terrifying as we have never attempted such a complex mission," ISRO chairman K Sivan said in a June 11 press conference according to the Times of India.
The solar-powered Vikram is expected to deploy the small Pragyan rover about four hours after landing. Together, the lander and rover are designed to last about one lunar day (14 Earth days) on the moon's surface, while the Chandrayaan-2 orbtier[sic] continues its mission for a full year, according to an ISRO overview.
Similar to the ill-fated Beresheet lander, the Vikram lander is carrying
a NASA experiment called the Laser Retro-reflector Array for Lunar Landers, a mirror-like device designed to reflect laser signals that can be used to pinpoint the Vikram lander's location and measure the distance between the Earth and moon.
In all the Orbiter, Lander, and Rover carry 13 different scientific instruments between them to study the moon from orbit and the surface, 8 of which are on the orbiter and will continue functioning long after the lander and rover.
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August 20, 2019
Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) maneuver was completed successfully today (August 20, 2019). The duration of maneuver was 1738 seconds beginning from 0902 hrs IST. With this, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into a Lunar orbit. The orbit achieved is 114 km x 18072 km.
Following this, a series of orbit maneuvers will be performed on Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to enable it to enter its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon's surface.
Subsequently, the lander will separate from the Orbiter and enters into a 100 km X 30 km orbit around the Moon. Then, it will perform a series of complex braking maneuvers to soft land in the South polar region of the Moon on September 7, 2019.
The health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru. All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 are healthy.
The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled tomorrow (August 21, 2019) between 1230-13:30 hrs IST.
August 21, 2019
Second Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 21, 2019) beginning at 1250 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 1228 seconds. The orbit achieved is 118 km x 4412 km.
All spacecraft parameters are normal.
The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on August 28, 2019 between 0530 - 0630 hrs IST.
Previously:
Chandrayaan-2 Launch: How to Watch First Mission to the Moon's South Pole Mon 20190722 @ 0913 UTC
Scrubbed Chandrayaan 2 Mission to Moon's South Pole to Launch on Mon July 22 0913 UTC
India's Lunar Spacecraft Launches Sunday on First-Ever Mission to Moon's South Pole
India to Launch Combined Orbiter/Lander/Rover Mission
NASA (USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration) reports that India's Vikram Lander has been Found:
The Chandrayaan 2 Vikram lander was targeted for a highland smooth plain about 600 kilometers from the south pole; unfortunately the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) lost contact with their lander shortly before the scheduled touchdown (Sept. 7 in India, Sept. 6 in the United States). Despite the loss, getting that close to the surface was an amazing achievement. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team released the first mosaic (acquired Sept. 17) of the site on Sept. 26 and many people have downloaded the mosaic to search for signs of Vikram. Shanmuga Subramanian contacted the LRO project with a positive identification of debris. After receiving this tip, the LROC team confirmed the identification by comparing before and after images. When the images for the first mosaic were acquired the impact point was poorly illuminated and thus not easily identifiable. Two subsequent image sequences were acquired on Oct. 14 and 15, and Nov. 11. The LROC team scoured the surrounding area in these new mosaics and found the impact site (70.8810°S, 22.7840°E, 834 m elevation) and associated debris field. The November mosaic had the best pixel scale (0.7 meter) and lighting conditions (72° incidence angle).
The debris first located by Shanmuga is about 750 meters northwest of the main crash site and was a single bright pixel identification in that first mosaic (1.3 meter pixels, 84° incidence angle). The November mosaic shows best the impact crater, ray and extensive debris field. The three largest pieces of debris are each about 2x2 pixels and cast a one pixel shadow.
See the NASA article for before/after pictures of the impact site.
Previously:
NASA Lunar Probe Will Help Search for India's Lost Moon Lander
Time is Running Out for India to Establish Contact With its Lunar Lander
India Locates Lander Lost on Final Approach to Moon
Chandrayaan-2: India's Vikram Lander Presumed to Have Crashed
Chandrayaan-2 Updates: Lunar Orbit Insertion and Lunar Orbit Maneuver
Chandrayaan-2 Launch: How to Watch First Mission to the Moon's South Pole Mon 20190722 @ 0913 UTC
Scrubbed Chandrayaan 2 Mission to Moon's South Pole to Launch on Mon July 22 0913 UTC
India's Lunar Spacecraft Launches Sunday on First-Ever Mission to Moon's South Pole
India to Launch Combined Orbiter/Lander/Rover Mission
India's Chandrayaan-2 Moon Mission Planned for 2018
(Score: 3, Informative) by driverless on Sunday June 16 2019, @07:40AM (5 children)
(Generic disparaging remark on the theme of the US alt-right's obsession with Indian toiletting habits, followed by a long comet-tail of gibberish racist comments).
Just thought I'd get that out of the way so others could have a legitimate discussion.
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Sunday June 16 2019, @08:02AM (3 children)
Originally a joint ISRO-Roscosmos project:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-2 [wikipedia.org]
Russians can be street shitters too if you pump enough vodka into them.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 16 2019, @08:33AM (2 children)
Yet they still defecate in public. Millions of people have limited or no access to an acceptable level of healthcare or food or clean water.
They insist on sending rockets to space at a cost of billions while their people live in squalor.
Well done, India.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 16 2019, @09:36AM
What makes you think most Indians don't have access to healthcare or food or clean water? Oh right, the Indian population is skyrocketing NOT because they have better access to healthcare, food and clean water than they had under British Raj, but because they just fuck like sewer rats that they are. Isn't it? Indians trying to get into space - is there no place left for superior humans?
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Sunday June 16 2019, @11:07AM
What you fail to realize is that they've created the perfect society with high tech at the top and a squalid, starving underclass as the labor force.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 16 2019, @08:42AM
Forgive my innocence, but what has being on the right side of the political spectrum have to do with southern Asian Indians emptying their bowels in public?
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Sunday June 16 2019, @08:09AM (5 children)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-2 [wikipedia.org]
Orbiter, lander, and rover cost $86 million total. Launch cost is $54 million on an Indian-built rocket.
Best payloads IMO are in the orbiter (looking for water ice and minerals) and rover (analyze samples with spectroscopes). The rover also has "stereoscopic camera-based 3D vision" using two cameras, so I guess that data could be released as VR180 footage.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Sunday June 16 2019, @08:20AM (1 child)
I've had curry last night and I'm launching indian-built rockets for a lot less than $54M.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 16 2019, @08:36AM
Your payload: $14 (curry @ extra hot)
Their payload: $140 million (curry, extra loft)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 16 2019, @08:47AM (1 child)
Imagine how many toilets could have been installed in India for that money. That could have paid for tens of thousands of workers to dig ditches and lay pipework and build etcetcetc for a few years. So many jobs. All instead for one trip. Shame, shame, shame.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 16 2019, @09:38AM
You forgot to login realDonaldTrump
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Sunday June 16 2019, @10:25AM
Yep, they sure keep the costs down.
However, overheard in a hallway at Space Central India:
"Yes, after simulations Jeb has recommended Moar Boosters!"
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Sunday June 16 2019, @08:17AM (3 children)
Looks like someone got here before us...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 16 2019, @08:39AM (1 child)
They want the recognition for being the first to shit on the moon?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 16 2019, @05:06PM
You mean they don't bring it back like we do?
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Sunday June 16 2019, @11:57AM
It's them Duke boys I'm sure of it! Now dammit Roscoe git out there an' catch em'! NOW!
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.