Fully explained Chandrayaan 2 Mission| Indian Space Research Organization

Earlier there were many rumors & speculations going over the Chandrayaan 2 mission, Top space agencies over the world like NASA, ESA(European Space Agency) were keeping an eye on ISRO regarding the mission.

But now ISRO has officially declared every info regarding the mission that you all need to know.

NOTE: To know more about Chandrayaan 1 mission you can visit my article which I posted a few weeks ago by clicking on ↓

Chandrayaan history

MISSION'S OBJECTIVE

1. To increase our knowledge about deep space, to test & demonstrate our technologies which will help us in future missions.
2. To visit the moon's lunar south pole:

Lunar south pole of the moon is selected because it remains in the shadow part of the moon most of the time as compared to northern polar region & it increases the chances of presence of water molecules trapped in craters, also it will help us to know about the fossil records.

• Moon is the nearest space body to our earth, so we need full explanations regarding its origin & various other factors.
• Chandrayaan 2 will try to perform extensive mapping of the moon's surface to study these factors.
• Chandrayaan 1 discovered the presence of water on the surface of the moon which was a huge landmark & now it will try to more research like the presence of water on the surface & beneath the surface also.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE LAUNCHER USED

Credits: ISRO

GSLV Mk-III or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is one of India's most powerful launchers & it will help Chandrayaan-2 to reach it's designated orbit.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

1. Consists of two solid strap-on motors, a core liquid booster & a cryogenic upper stage.
2. It can carry 4 tonnes of payload to GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits).
3. It can carry 8 tonnes of payload to LEO (Lower Earth Orbits).
4. 2 strap-on motors also known as S200 are present on either side of core liquid booster carrying propellant to lift off the vehicle. It works for 140 seconds & after the 114th second liquid core boosters ignite to carry on the operation.

VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS

Height→ 43.43 m

Diameter→ 4 m   

Heat shield (Payload Fairing ) diameter→ 5 m

Number of Stages→ 3

Lift off mass→ 640 tonnes

NOTE: The launch operation is expected to be in the window of July 9 to July 16,2019.

 ORBITER 

Credits: ISRO

After the launch into the earth's orbit by GSLV Mk-III module will reach the moon's orbit using the orbiter propulsion module.
Orbiter weighs around 2379 Kg with a generation capacity of electric power at 1000 Watts. Orbiter & lander will be stacked together, after reaching the moon's orbit & landing site near the lunar polar lander will be separated from the orbiter.

ORBITER PAYLOADS

Serial no.	Payload	Description	Function
1	Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC-2)	A miniaturized version of the mapping camera used on Chandrayaan 1.	Map the lunar surface in the panchromatic spectral band (0.5-0.8 microns) with a high spatial resolution of 5 m & swath of 20 Km from 100 km lunar orbit.
2	Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-Ray Spectrometer (CLASS)		To measure the moon's X-ray fluorescence spectra to measure the presence of major elements like magnesium,aluminum,silicon etc.
3	Solar X-Ray Monitor		Observe X-rays by the sun & measures the intensity of solar radiations in these rays support CLASS.
4	Orbiter High-Resolution Camera		To provide High-resolution images of the landing site. Images will be used to generate DEMS (Digital Elevation Models) and for scientific research.
5	Image IR Spectrometer		To provide a minerlaogical mapping of the moon & complete characterization of the water molecule near 3 micrometers at high spatial & spectral resolutions.
6	Dual Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar		High lunar mapping in lunar regions, quantitative estimation of water in the polar region, estimation of regolith thickness & it's distribution.
7	Chandrayaan-2 Atmospheric Compositional Explorer 2		Scan Lunar neutral exosphere in the range of 1-3oo amu with mass resolution of 0.5 amu.

VIKRAM LANDER

Credits: ISRO

The lander is named so after the name of Dr. Vikram A Sarabhai ( Father of Indian Space Programme).

FEATURES:-

1. Can function for 1 lunar day i.e 14 earth days.
2. Weighs around 1471 Kg.
3. It can generate electric power at 650 Watts.
4. Communication can be done with orbiter, rover & IDSN Byalalu situated near Bengaluru in Karnataka, India.

LANDER PAYLOADS

Serial No.	Name	Features
1	Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere & Atmosphere.	Ionosphere consists of dynamic plasma so it will try to measure ambient electron density & temperature near the lunar surface. Also to measure variation in the plasma density in varying solar conditions.
2	Chandra's Surface Thermo Physical Experiment	To measure vertical temperature gradient and thermal conductivity of the lunar surface. Will work in two modes Passive ( for measure temperature at different depths) & Active ( measure temperature variations in a set period of time).
3	An instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity	Measure displacement, acceleration, velocity caused by lunar earthquakes

PRAGYAN ROVER

Credits: ISRO

Rover is AI-powered and robotic, it has 6 wheels which it can use to travel up to 500 meters. It can generate electric power up to 50 Watts using solar energy. It also weighs around 27 Kg.

ROVER PAYLOADS

Serial No.	Name	Features
1	Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer	To determine the elemental composition of the moon's surface near the landing site.
2	Laser-Induced Breakdown spectroscope	To determine the abundance of elements near the landing site.

Peace ☮