India's second moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, will launch on July 15
What's the story
After years of planning and development, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is finally ready to launch Chandrayaan-2, India's second mission to the Moon.
The agency has announced that the spacecraft for the mission would launch from Sriharikota on July 15.
It will travel through space for nearly two months before reaching our only natural satellite on September 6.
Here are the details.
Work
Final phase of assembly complete
Just recently, Mr. K Sivan, the chairman of ISRO, confirmed the plan to launch Chandrayaan-2 on July 15 at 2:51 am.
He claimed the spacecraft's final assembly phase has been completed and it will be deployed to launch station by June 20.
Notably, Chandrayaan-2 will have three main components - Orbiter, Lander (Vikram), and Rover (Pragyaan) - and 13 payloads, including one from NASA.
Twitter Post
Here is ISRO's announcement
#WATCH Live from Bengaluru: ISRO Chairman addresses the media #Chandrayaan2 https://t.co/ruTEvtcxuu
— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2019
Mission
GSLV MK-III rocket will be Chandrayaan-2's ride
Rhe Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft will be launched into an Earth-bound orbit using a GSLV MK-III rocket and maneuvered toward the final lunar orbit using thrusters.
After reaching, the craft's Orbiter will stay in the lunar orbit, some 100km from the surface, while the Lander will soft-land near the south pole of the Moon, a territory that has never been visited by any spacecraft.
Work
Then, the rover will roll out
Once the Lander settles on the surface, the six-wheeled rover will roll out and explore the lunar South Pole, the place where ice is concentrated.
It will stroll in the region for about 300-400 meters and then conduct several experiments, including on-site chemical analysis of the surface, using onboard equipment.
In all, it will spend 14 Earth days on the Moon surface.
Mission
Around Rs. 600 crore spent on Chandrayaan-2
The Indian government has spent around Rs. 600 crore on the highly ambitious Chandrayaan-2 mission.
If all goes according to the plan, the country will become the fourth nation in the world to land on the Moon after Russia, the US, and China.
"It is the most complex mission ever to be undertaken by ISRO," Sivan told NDTV.