ISRO to go back to moon again | Fusion - WeRIndia

Several decades ago, the idea of people going to the moon was the talk of the world, with the two global superpowers at the time, Russia and the United States, facing off in a massive space race with that as the ultimate goal.

However, after Neil Armstrong became the first man to land on the moon, the excitement about people and their crafts landing on the spherical gray rock died down.

Yet today, the Indian Space Research Organization (IRSO) is regenerating that excitement with their announcement of India’s second mission to the moon, the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which will be launched later this year.

This mission will not only be India’s second ever moon mission, but it will also be the first ever moon mission to soft land on the south pole of the moon.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II vehicle will carry the satellite, which weighs 3,300 kilograms.

After it goes into orbit around the moon, the lander will detach and soft-land near the moon’s south pole.

The rover will spend an entire lunar day on the moon, which adds up to 14 Earth days. It will walk from 150 to 200 meters and perform several experiments and chemical analyses of the surface of the moon.

After this, it will only take 15 minutes for the rover to transfer back the necessary data and images back to Earth.

Also, since the ISRO is reducing the costs of its launch vehicles and satellites, this will allow them to explore more efficient forms of space exploration in the future.

They are currently exploring the possibilities of using advanced electronics, electronic propulsion systems, and miniaturized avionics.

The ISRO is preparing for this mission in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu, at the Liquid Propulsion System Center.

The mission is expected to be ready to launch in April of 2018 at the earliest.

Image Credit:- రహ్మానుద్దీన్ / CC BY-SA

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISRO%27s_GSLV_at_SHAR_entrance.jpg