CHANDRAYAAN 2

CHANDRAYAAN 2, THE NAME BECAME TRENDING NOW A DAYS AND MANY PEOPLE STARTED TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS PROJECT AND ALL THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNET SURFFINGS. EVEN A COMMON PEOPLE STARTED SPEAKING ABOUT CHANDRAYAAN 2 WHILE TRAVELLING IN BUSES, IN TEA SHOPS AND THE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE INTERACT MORE WITH THE OTHERS. THE MOON IS THE PERFECT TEST BED FOR PROVIDING TECGNOLOGIES FOR FUTURE SPACE EXPLORATIONS.

BEFORE SPEAKING BROADLY ABOUT CHANDRAYAAN 2 LET ME SAY FEW HIGHLIGHTS ABOUT CHANDRAYAAN 1. IT WAS LAUNCHED ON OCTOBER 22, 2008 WITH THE HELP OF PSLV ROCKET WHICH CARRIED ELEVEN SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS TO PREPARE THREE DIMENSIONAL CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL MAPPING OF THE LUNAR SURFACE, WHICH HAS THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF AROUND 1380 KG. IT DISCOVERED SURFICIAL WATER IN THE MOON, WHICH SHOWS THAT THERE IS ABUNDANCE PRESENT OF OH/H2O IN THE LUNAR SURFACE. THIS STUDY ALSO SAYS THAT THERE IS A PRESENCE OF WATER IN ALL THE PARTS OF THE LUNAR REGION, NOT ONLY IN THE POLAR REGIONS WHICH HAS A MAXIMUM CONCENTRATION AVERAGE OF AROUND 500 – 750 Parts Per Million (PPM) IN THE HIGHER LATITUDES. IT WAS OPERATIONAL FOR 312 DAYS AND FOUNDED THE TRACES OF WATER, WATER ICE, MAGNESIUM AND SILICON.

ABOUT CHANDRAYAAN 2, IT IS A TWO MODULE CONFIGURATION SPACECRAFT COMPRISING OF ORBITER CRAFT AND LANDER CRAFT, WHICH HAS THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF ABOUT 640 TONS. THE MISSION WAS LAUNCHED ON JULY 22, 2019 WITH THE HELP OF GSLV MKII WHICH PLACES AN ORBITER AROUND THE MOON AND SENDING A LANDER MODULE WITH A ROVER TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DESIGN, REALIZE AND DEPLOY A LUNAR LANDER WHICH IS CAPABLE OF SOFT LANDING IN THE SOUTH POLAR REGION WHICH WAS NOT PREVIOUSLY DONE BY ANY OF THE SPACE CRAFT AGENCY. THE MISSION CARRIES OUT A REMOTE SENSING ANALYSIS OF LUNAR SURFACE WHICH IN TURN ENHANCES THE SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE CHANDRAYAAN 1. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF ISRO, TWO WOMEN ARE HEADING THIS CHANDRAYAAN 2 MISSION, NAMELY RITU KRIDHAL AND M VANITHA AS PROJECT AND MISSION DIRECTORS RESPECTIVELY.

CHANDRAYAAN 2 ORBITER WAS PLANNED FOR THE OPERATION OF 7.5 YEARS WHILE THE ROVER LANDER MODULE WAS PLANNED FOR THE OPERATION OF ONE LUNAR DAYS WHICH EQUALS TO 14 EARTH DAYS. THE PROJECT COST WAS ABOUT Rs. 978 CRORES WHICH IS THE WORLD’S LEAST COST LUNAR LANDING OPERATION AND HAS BECAME THE TEMPLATE FOR THE FURTHER LUNAR MISSIONS.

CHANDRAYAAN 2 LANDER (VIKRAM) STRUCTURE IS A TRUNCATED PYRAMID AROUND A CYLINDER WHICH HAS THE PROPELLANT TANK AND THE INTERFACE FOR THE SEPARATE MECHANISM OF ORBITER. THE LANDER LEG WHICH ARE FOUR IN NUMBER PROVIDES THE STABILITY UPON LANDING IN DIFFERENT TERRAINS.

CHANDRAYAAN 2 ROVER (PRAGYAN) CONSISTS OF SIX WHEELS WHICH WAS DESIGNED WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF PERFORMING MOBILITY ON THE LOW GRAVITY & VACUUM ON MOON FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE LUNAR RESOURCES. THE DESIGN OF THE ROVER WAS BASED ON THE WELL PROVEN ROVER “SOJOURNER” WHICH WAS DEVELOPED BY NASA FOR THE EXPLORATION OF MASS IN THE YEAR 1997. THE ROVER CONSISTS OF 2 NAVIGATION CAMERAS FOR GENERATION OF STEREO IMAGES IN THE PATH PLANNING.

FUTURE PROJECTS OF ISRO INCLUDES ADITYA L1 MISSION WHICH STUDIES ABOUT THE SUN’S CORONA AND ITS ATMOSPHERE, “GAGANYAAN” THE MISSION WHICH SENDS ASTRONAUTS TO THE SPACE. ANOTHER PLANNED MISSION IS THE “MANGALYAAN 2” AND IN THE LATE 2020’S CHANDRAYAAN 3 WILL BE LAUNCHED AS A SERIES OF MISSIONS OF LAUNCHING TO THE MOON. THE NEXT MISSION IS THE “SHUKRAYAAN” WHICH WILL BE LAUNCHED TO THE VENUS. ANOTHER WONDERFUL AND AMAZING PLAN IN THIS PIPELINE IS THE CONSTRUCTION OF SPACE STATION BY INDIA IN THE MID 2020’S WHICH SEEMS TO BE LIKE A LOGICAL EXTENSION “GAGANYAAN” MISSION OF SENDING HUMAN BEINGS TO SPACE. HOPING THE ABOVE MENTIONED PROJECTS WILL GET SUCCESS IN FUTURE.

HIGHLIGHTS OF CHANDRAYAAN 2

1. TOTAL WEIGHT = 640 TONS
2. DISTANCE FROM EARTH - 384400 KM
3. TIME TAKEN TO REACH MOON = 48 DAYS
4. PRAGYAN ROVER WEIGHT - 27 KG, OPERATING DAYS – 14
5. VIKRAM LANDER WEIGHT – 1471 KG, OPERATING DAYS – 14
6. ORBITER WEIGHT – 2379 KG, OPERATING DAYS – 7.5 YEARS.