Chandrayaan 2 to soft land in the south polar region of the moon on September 7.
Chandrayaan 2, India's second lunar exploration mission, successfully manoeuvred into lunar orbit on Tuesday, after 28 days of space travel. The lift-off of Chandrayaan 2 on July 22 was successful in its second attempt, a week after it was aborted just under an hour from its launch due to a technical glitch. Prior to this, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched Chandrayaan-1, India's first Indian lunar probe in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The world over, countries, companies and even individuals are turning to the Moon - vying each other to fly their flags on lunar South Pole.
Indian Space Research Organisation explains why nations are investing resources to reach Moon's South Pole:
- Moon's craters have been untouched by sunlight for billions of years - offering an undisturbed record of the solar system's origins.
- Its permanently shadowed craters are estimated to hold nearly 100 million tons of water.
- Its regolith has traces of hydrogen, ammonia, methane, sodium, mercury and silver - making it an untapped source of essential resources.
- Its elemental and positional advantages make it a suitable pit stop for future space exploration.
According to ISRO, Chandrayaan 2's lander will separate from the orbiter and enter into a 100 km x 30 km orbit around the moon. Then, it will perform a series of complex braking manoeuvres to soft land in the south polar region of the moon on 1:40 am on September 7, 2019. This is India's most ambitious space mission to date and Chandrayaan 2 mission stands out because of its low cost, with just about Rs. 1,000 crore spent.