COVER STORY
Chandrayaan 2
India’s Second Lunar Mission
to Lunar South Pole
With the successful launch of the Chandrayaan
2, it is not surprising that the Indian Space
Research Organisation has initiated something
that hasn’t been done by any of the
countries before.
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The first lunar mission with the
Chandrayaan – 1, which was a success
too, the Indian space researchers are all
set to explore the Lunar south pole for
better pictures and evidences for possible
breakthrough in the future findings and
explorations.
The Chandrayaan – 2 consists of three
distinct parts in it – the orbiter, the rover
named as Pragyan and finally, the lander,
Vikram.
The spacecraft finally took off from
launching pad in Sriharikota on July
22nd, 2019 and is all set to land on the
moon on September 07th, 2019. The
space scientists have designated stating
that while the mission life of the Orbiter
is around 1 year, that of the orbiter and
the lander will be one Lunar day which is
equivalent to 14 Earth days.
While the first lunar mission by ISRO
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was conducted in 2008, the scientists
are working to conduct and complete
this entire mission in 3 phases – the
Chandrayaan 1, Chandrayaan 2 and
finally, the Chandrayaan 3.
The final mission is believed to be
conducted in 2024 but hasn’t been
decided upon the tentative date or month
yet.
Comparing Chandrayaan 1 vs.
Chandrayaan 2
The Chandrayaan 1 was the first
successful lunar mission conducted by
the Indian Space Research Organisation
in October 2008. The functionality of
the parts of the spaceship was there
till the end of August 2009. Unlike the
second installment, the first mission’s
components included an orbiter as well
as an impactor.