The Indian Space Research Organisation is getting ready for its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan 2. The mission is on schedule and flight models are going through various tests.
In this second mission to the Moon, ISRO is planning to rover to explore the lunar surface. "It is on schedule. We have to find out whether it is in March or not," said ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar.
Speaking after the successful orbiting of 31 satellites, including weather observation Cartosat-2 Series craft, by the PSLV-C40, he said the Chandrayan-II satellite was getting ready at the ISRO Satellite Centre.
Times Now reported that the Chandrayaan-2, weighing around 3290 kilograms, would orbit around the moon and carry out its objectives of remote sensing while the payloads will collect information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.
The launch date is scheduled for April, and the GSLV rocket will lift-off from Sriharikota.
What makes this a more significant event than the first lunar mission, is that this time it is not just a single spacecraft.
The flight models would comprise of an orbiter, lander and six-wheeled rover which would move around the landing site and instruments on it would send back data that would be useful in analysing the lunar soil.
After reaching lunar orbit, the Lander housing the rover will separate from the orbiter. After a controlled descent, the lander will softly land on the lunar surface at a specified site and deploy the rover.
The rover is reported to possess power to last one lunar day or 14 Earth days on the moon’s surface.
"We are trying to push the launch envelope to such an extent so that we have three of GSLV category and nine of PSLV category (this year). It is still quite a tough task. They are going through the process and it is targeted sometime next month (for launch)," said Kumar.
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