The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has scheduled the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 unmanned lunar exploration mission for July 15, ISRO Chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan said on Wednesday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th June, 2019) The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has scheduled the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 unmanned lunar exploration mission for July 15, ISRO Chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan said on Wednesday.
Indian media reported earlier in the week that the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 mission might take place between July 9 and July 16. The launch was originally scheduled for April 2018 but then was postponed several times for undisclosed reasons.
"Now, ISRO has formed date of launch [of the Chandrayaan-2 mission.] It is July 15, early morning, 02.51 a.m. [21.21 GMT on July 14]," Sivan said at the presentation of a new lunar rover in Bangalore.
According to earlier media reports, the launch will be conducted from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island.
The Chandrayaan-2 is India's second lunar exploration mission, preceded by the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which was sent to the Moon in 2008. The first spacecraft comprised a lunar orbiter and a lander, while the second mission is more advanced than its� predecessor and is equipped with an orbiter, a lander and a rover. It was initially planned that the rover would be designed by Russia, but later India decided to carry out the mission alone as several technical flaws were discovered in the Russian prototype.
The mission's lander is named Vikram after the ISRO's founder, Vikram Sarabhai. The mission will also have a small rover that will study the mineralogical and chemical composition of the lunar surface. It is expected that Vikram will land at the south pole of the Moon on September 6. This will be the mission's most difficult part. The spacecraft has to avoid shaded areas, because, as experts note, the device needs light to generate energy.
