Chandrayaan 2
why
it is so important for everyone that not only our country but the whole worlds
eye is on this mission. so let me tell you that India is the first country that
is going to lend on the south polar region of the moon. if we talk about human
exploration of the moon, there are several missions which have undertaken for
exploring the moon.
the earth's natural satellite that is the moon
has the key to open the secrets of its birth and for finding the answers to all
these questions of the human mind man started his journey towards the moon and
in this way, the story of the journey towards the moon started.
Luna 2, originally named
the Second Soviet Cosmic Rocket and nicknamed Lunik 2 in
contemporaneous media was the sixth of the Soviet Union's Luna program
spacecraft launched to the Moon. Luna 2 of the Soviet Union was the first
spacecraft to reach to the moon's surface successfully on 13th September 1959
and Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to achieve a
controlled soft landing
in 1966, while luna 10 was the first mission to enter the orbit .as
a part of the Appolo program crewed mission was conducted to the moon by united
states between 1968 and 1972. Apollo 8 was the first crewed mission to
enter orbit in December 1968 and was followed by Apollo 10 in May 1969. Six missions landed
men on the Moon, beginning with Apollo 11 in July 1969, during which Neil Armstrong became the
first man to walk on the Moon. Apollo 13 was intended to land, however, it
was restricted to a flyby due to a malfunction aboard the spacecraft. All nine
crewed missions returned safely to the Earth. Missions to the Moon have
been conducted by the Soviet Union, United States, European
Space Agency, Japan, India, People's
Republic of China and Israel. The Moon has also been visited by five
spacecraft not dedicated to studying it; four spacecraft have flown past it to
gain gravity assistance, and a radio telescope, Explorer 49, was placed into selenocentric orbit in order to
use the Moon to block interference from terrestrial radio sources.
Chandrayaan1
CHNDRAYAAN 1 was
the first Indian lunar probe under the Chandrayaan program.
It was launched by the Indian
Space Research Organisation in October 2008 and operated until
August 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor.
India launched the spacecraft using a PSLV-XL rocket,
serial number C11, on 22 October 2008 at 00:52 UTC from Satish Dhawan
Space Centre, at Sriharikota about 80 km (50 mi)
north of Chennai. The mission was a major boost to
India's space program, as India researched and developed its own
technology in order to explore the Moon. The vehicle was inserted into
lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.
On
14 November 2008, the Moon Impact Probe separated from the
Chandrayaan orbiter at 14:36 UTC and struck the south pole in a controlled
manner, making India the fourth country to place its flag insignia on the
Moon. The probe hit near the crater Shackleton at
15:01 UTC, ejecting sub-surface soil that could be analyzed for the
presence of lunar water ice. The
location of impact was named as Jawahar Point.
The
estimated cost for the project was 386 crore (US$56 million).
The remote sensing lunar satellite had a mass
of 1,380 kg (3,040 lb) at launch and 675 kg (1,488 lb) in
lunar orbit.[15] It carried
high-resolution remote sensing equipment for visible, near-infrared, and soft and hard X-ray frequencies.
Over a two-year period, it was intended to survey the lunar surface to produce
a complete map of its chemical characteristics and three-dimensional
topography. The polar regions are of special interest as they might contain
ice. The lunar mission carried five ISRO payloads and six payloads from
other space agencies including NASA, ESA,
and the Bulgarian
Aerospace Agency, which was carried free of cost. Among its
many achievements was the discovery of the widespread presence of water
molecules in lunar soil.
After
almost a year, the orbiter started suffering from several technical issues
including failure of the star sensors and poor thermal shielding; Chandrayaan
stopped sending radio signals about 20:00 UTC on 28 August 2009, shortly
after which the ISRO officially
declared the mission over. Chandrayaan operated for 312 days as opposed to the
intended two years but the mission achieved 95% of its planned objectives.
On
2 July 2016, NASA used ground-based radar systems to relocate Chandrayaan-1 in
its lunar orbit, more than seven years after it shut down. Repeated
observations over the next three months allowed a precise determination of its
orbit which varies between 150 and 270 km (93 and 168 mi) in altitude
every two years.
(news
taken from the official website of ISRO)
Chandrayaan-2
why we are going to the moon again?
The
Moon is the closest cosmic body at which space discovery can be attempted and
documented. It is also a promising testbed to demonstrate the technologies
required for deep-space missions. Chandrayaan 2 attempts to foster a new age of
discovery, increase our understanding of space, stimulate the advancement of
technology, promote global alliances, and inspire a future generation of
explorers and scientists.
What are the scientific objectives of
Chandrayaan 2? Why explore the Lunar South Pole?
Moon
provides the best linkage to Earth’s early history. It offers an undisturbed
historical record of the inner Solar system environment. Though there are a few
mature models, the origin of the Moon still needs further explanations.
Extensive mapping of the lunar surface to study variations in lunar surface the composition is essential to trace back the origin and evolution of the Moon.
Evidence for water molecules discovered by Chandrayaan-1 requires further
studies on the extent of water molecule distribution on the surface, below the
surface and in the tenuous lunar exosphere to address the origin of water on
Moon.
The
lunar South Pole is especially interesting because of the lunar surface area
here that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the North Pole. There
is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around
it. In addition, the South Pole region has craters that are cold traps and
contain a fossil record of the early Solar System.
Chandrayaan-2
will attempt to soft-land the lander -Vikram and rover- Pragyan in a high plain
between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70°
south.
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