Chandrayaan 2: Topics Covered
Chandrayaan 2: Topics Covered
Chandrayaan 2: Topics Covered
insightsonindia.com/2019/07/23/chandrayaan-2-2/
July 23,
2019
Topics covered:
1. Awareness in space.
Chandrayaan 2
What to study?
For prelims and mains: Key objectives, significance, payloads of the mission.
Context: With the successful launch of India’s Moon mission Chandrayaan-2, all eyes are
now on September 7 when the lander and rover modules of the spacecraft will make a
soft landing on the surface of the moon.
The 640-tonne GSLV Mk-III rocket successfully injected the 3,850-kg Chandrayaan-2
composite module into the Earth’s orbit. According to the revised flight sequence,
Chandrayaan-2 would spend 23 days in the Earth’s orbit.
Chandrayaan-2 mission:
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Objectives of the mission:
GSLV Mk-III:
It has a mass of 640 tonnes that can accommodate up to 8,000 kg payload to LEO and
4000 kg payload to GTO.
GSLV Mk-III vehicle is powered by two solid motor strap-ons (S200), a liquid propellant
core stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C25), that has been designed for carrying the
four-tonne class satellites.
The C25 is powered by CE-20, India’s largest cryogenic engine, designed and developed
by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
According to ISRO, the lunar south pole is an interesting surface area, which remains in
shadow as compared to the north pole. There is a possibility of the presence of water in
permanently shadowed areas around it, the agency said, adding craters in the south pole
region have cold traps and contain fossil records of the early solar system.
Challenges involved in the moon landing are identifying trajectory accurately; taking
up deep space communication; trans-lunar injection, orbiting around the moon, taking
up soft landing on the moon surface, and facing extreme temperatures and vacuum.
India will become the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon . So far, all the
landings have been in the areas close to the Moon’s equator.
This is mainly because, this area receives more sunlight, which is required by solar
powered instruments.
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But Chandrayaan-2 will make a landing at a site where no earlier mission has gone,
i.e., near the South Pole of the Moon . It can contain clues to the fossil records of early
Solar System.
The unexplored territory gives an opportunity for the Mission to discover something
new. The South Pole of the Moon holds possibility of presence of water. In addition, this
area is also supposed to have ancient rocks and craters that can offer indications of
history of the Moon.
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