India’s Moon mission gets another step closer to success as it enters the lunar orbit. Landing is expected on September 7th
In a major boost to India’s Moon mission, the spacecraft Chandrayaan – 2 has successfully entered the lunar orbit today, i.e., Tuesday, August 20, 2019.
The Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) maneuver was completed at 9:02 hours IST, using the onboard propulsion system. The maneuver lasted 1,738 seconds. According to Indian Space Research organisation (ISRO), Chandrayaan -2 is all set o sift-land on moon on September 7, 2019 at 1:55 hours. As of today, Chandrayaan – 2 has an inclination of 88 Degrees.
Chandrayaan – 2 was launched on July 22, 2019 at 14:43 hours Indian Standard Time (IST), from the Sriharikota island in Andhra Pradesh.The Rs. 1,000 crores mission will make India the fourth country to soft launch on moon after United States (U.S.), Russia and People’s Republic of China. The mission will focus on the lunar surface, search for water and minerals and will measure moonquakes.
Addressing the media on ISRO’s latest achievement, the Chairperson of ISRO – Kailasavadivoo Sivan said, “Today, we’ve crossed a major milestone. The precise LOI (Lunar Orbiter Insertion) maneuver carried out at about 9 a.m. for about 30 minutes has put Chandrayaan-2 in the desired orbit perfectly. In order to achieve the soft-landing on September 7, there’s a unique requirement. The inclination of spacecraft needed to achieve an inclination of 90 Degrees.”
He further added, “Right now Chandrayaan-2 is in an elliptical orbit, we’ll bring it down to 100 km X 100 km circular orbit by performing four more maneuver. And then again to a 100 km X 30 km. By this time, we’ll have the inclination of 90 degree.”
Describing the moment when Team Chandrayaan – 2 attempted to inject the spacecraft into the lunar orbit, Sivan said, “For 30 minutes, our heart was almost stopping.”
The health of Chandrayaan – 2 is being monitored continuously 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.
On September 2, 2019, the lander will get separated from the orbiter. Till then, the focus will be on the orbiter and all maneuvers will be carried out by onboard systems of orbiter. From September 2, 2019, it will all be done on Lander systems. On September 3, 2019, a 3 seconds health check will be performed on the lander. On September 4, 2019 a de-orbit maneuver will be done for 6.5 seconds.
Sivan also said, “On September 4, at 1.40 a.m. (IST) the powered descent will start, and at about 1.55am, the lander will make the touchdown. Then we’ll deploy the ramp, which will touch the lunar surface after which solar panels will be deployed. And, about 4 hours after the lander’s landing, the rover will come out.”
At the same time, Sivan has informed that the proposed soft-landing on the Moon will definitely be a terrifying moment as it is something which ISRO has never done before. However, ISRO has expressed confidence of a successful soft-landing.
