The Chandrayaan (also known as moon-craft) Programme is an ongoing Indian lunar exploration programme with an objective to study the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-1 was the first lunar probe launched by India in October 2008 using a PSLV-XL rocket from Sriharikota and it lasted till August 2009. The data from Chandrayaan-1 highlighted the evidence for widespread presence of water ice on the moon surface. Chandrayaan-2 is a follow-up mission to Chandrayaan-1.
About Chandrayaan-2:
Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1. It consisted of a lunar orbiter, the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover, all of which were developed in India. Chandrayaan-2 is the country’s first time using self-manufactured components and design vehicles. The launch is significant for a number of reasons, including the fact that, for the first time in Indian history, a space mission is spearheaded by two women. Chandrayaan-2 is led by Muthayya Vanitha and Ritu Karidhal, the project director and mission director, respectively.
The main scientific objective is to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water
Objectives:
The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-2 lander were to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface. Scientific goals include orbital studies of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice. The orbiter will map the lunar surface and help to prepare 3D maps of it. The onboard radar will also map the surface while studying the water ice in the south polar region and thickness of the lunar regolith on the surface.
Spacecrafts used:
- Orbiter: At the time of launch, the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter will be capable of communicating with Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu as well as the Vikram Lander. The mission life of the Orbiter is one year and it will be placed in a 100X100 km lunar polar orbit. It carries eight scientific instruments; two of which are improved versions of those flown on Chandrayaan-1. The approximate launch mass was 2,379 kg. The Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) will conduct high-resolution observations of the landing site prior to separation of the lander from the orbiter.
- Lander-Vikram: The Lander of Chandrayaan-2 is named Vikram after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the Father of the Indian Space Programme. It is designed to function for one lunar day, which is equivalent to about 14 Earth days. Vikram has the capability to communicate with IDSN at Byalalu near Bangalore, as well as with the Orbiter and Rover. The Lander is designed to execute a soft landing on the lunar surface.
- Rover-Pragyan: Chandrayaan-2’s Rover is a 6-wheeled robotic vehicle named Pragyan. It can travel up to 500 m (½-a-km) and leverages solar energy for its functioning. It can only communicate with the Lander.
For navigation, the rover uses:
- Stereoscopic camera-based 3D vision: two 1 megapixel, monochromatic NAVCAMs in front of the rover to provide the ground control team a 3D view of the surrounding terrain, and help in path-planning by generating a digital elevation model of the terrain.[78] IIT Kanpur contributed to the development of the subsystems for light-based map generation and motion planning for the rover.[79]
- Control and motor dynamics: the rover has a rocker-bogie suspension system and six wheels, each driven by independent brushless DC electric motors. Steering is accomplished by differential speed of the wheels or skid steering.
Launch of Chandrayaan-2:
Chandrayaan-2 launch was initially scheduled for 14 July 2019, with the landing expected on 6 September 2019. However, the launch was aborted due to a technical glitch and was rescheduled. The launch occurred on 22 July 2019 at 09:13 on the first operational flight of a GSLV MK III M1.
Finally Chandrayaan-2 was launched on-board the GSLV MK III M1 launch vehicle on 22 July 2019 at 09:13 with better-than-expected apogee as a result of the cryogenic upper stage being burned to depletion, which later eliminated the need for one of the apogee-raising burns during the geocentric phase of mission. This also resulted in the saving of around 40 kg fuel onboard the spacecraft.
Landing site:
Chandrayaan-2’s lander and rover are targeted for a location about 600 kilometers (375 miles) from the south pole, which would be the first time any mission touched down so far from the equator. The lander is expected to last about one lunar day, or 14 Earth-days; it is unclear if it will revive after falling into the darkness of a lunar night. Its measurements of moonquakes would provide more data after the information collected by the human Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s, according to Science.
Status of Chandrayaan-2:
The mission has achieved a 95% success with the placement of the orbiter in the moon’s orbit. It will take images of the moon for one year and send the data to earth.
On 7 September 2019, the lander, Vikram tried to make a soft landing on the moon but when it was 2 kms away from the surface, the ISRO lost contant with Vikram. Many efforts have been made to restore communication but the efforts have not been fruitful. The rover has not been able to come out of the lander and thus, it can not gather important information related to the Moon. Due to this, the data that was supposed to be collected by Vikram and pragyaan cannot be collected.
Both ISRO and NASA attempted to communicate with the lander for about two weeks before the lunar night set in. while NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) flew over on 17 September 2019 and acquired some images of the intended landing zone. However, the location was near dusk, causing poor lighting for optical imaging. The LRO will fly over again on 14 October under favourable lighting conditions. The lander and rover were primarily engineering tests, and the lander’s success criteria was defined for every phase, scoring 90% to 95%. The orbiter part of the mission, with eight scientific instruments, remains operational, and will continue its seven-year mission to study the Moon.
Advancements of India’s space technology at global level:
Even if the chandrayaan-2 mission ends up in failure, ISRO will have a lot to learn from its experiences, motivating it to do better in the future. India is the only country in the world which successfully completed its maiden interplanetary mission to Mars.
ISRO also holds the world record for launching the most satellites in a single mission. Even though it lacks the resources and money compared to what NASA gets, it is continually proving its dominance in the world with its innovative cost-effective solutions.
Currently, with a budget of $1.2 billion, ISRO is ranked at number 5 in the world while having almost a fraction of the budget when compared to other space agencies.