Chandrayaan-2
Chandrayaan-2 imaged Sarabhai crater on the Moon
On 30th July 2020, Terrain Mapping Camera – 2 (TMC-2) onboard ISRO’s Chandrayaan – 2 captured the Sarabhai Crater on Mare Serenitatis in the north east quadrant of the Moon. Mare Serenitatis, which host the Sarabhai crater is one of the lunar mare region on the Moon, with vast lava plains creating a near flat surface. To the east and ~250-300 km of Sarabhai crater is the landing site of Apollo 17 and Luna 21 missions.
Sarabhai crater is named after an Indian astrophysicist Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, regarded as the Father of Indian Space program, and the Founder of Physical Research Laboratory and a distinguished cosmic-ray and space scientist. The birth centenary of Dr. Sarabhai is being celebrated by ISRO.
The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and 3D view of the crater generated using the Fore, Nadir and Aft images from TMC-2 reveals average depth of the crater as ~1.7 km from the raised crater rim and average slope of the crater walls is in the range 25-30°. This Sarabhai crater outer region is dominated by numerous smaller craters of varying diameter distributed over the flat Mare plains, and is devoid of any large crater (diameter >10 km) in its vicinity (~100 km around). The raised rim, the gradient inner walls and the small hummocky floor makes the Sarabhai crater an excellent example to understand the impact processes on the lava filled region of the Moon.
November 13, 2019
Terrain Mapping Camera-2 (TMC-2) is a follow-on of the TMC on-board Chandrayaan-1. TMC-2 provides images (0.4μm to 0.85μm) at 5m spatial resolution & stereo triplets (fore, nadir and aft views) from a 100 km orbit for preparing Digital Elevation model (DEM) of the complete lunar surface.
The triplet images from TMC-2 when processed into Digital Elevation Models, enable mapping of surface landform morphologies. These include
- Craters (formed by impactors)
- Lava tubes (potential sites for future habitability)
- Rilles (furrows formed by lava channels or collapsed lava tubes)
- Dorsa or wrinkle ridges (formed mostly in Mare regions depicting cooling of and contraction of basaltic lava)
- Graben structures (depicts the structural dislocations on the lunar surface )
- Lunar Domes/ Cones (denoting localized vents of past volcanism on the Moon).
The derived information facilitates estimation of dimensions of above features and its comparison for reconstructing the morpho-structural framework, crater characterization to derive impact geometries, surface age determination through Crater Size –Frequency Distribution (CSFD) methods, Rheological analysis based on the derived morphometric parameters, Lunar reflectance estimation etc.
October 31, 2019
Detection of Argon-40 in the lunar exosphere
Planetary scientists prefer to call the thin gaseous envelope around the Moon as the ‘Lunar exosphere’ since it is so tenuous that the gas atoms very rarely collide with each other. While the Earth’s atmosphere near the mean sea level contains ~1019 atoms in a cubic centimetre of volume, the lunar exosphere contains ~ 104 to 106atoms in a cubic centimetre.
Argon-40 (40Ar), which is one of the isotopes of the noble gas Argon, is an important constituent of the lunar exosphere. It originates from the radioactive disintegration of Potassium-40 (40K), which has a half-life of ~1.2 X 109 years. The radioactive 40K nuclide, which is present deep below the lunar surface, disintegrates to 40Ar, which, in turn, diffuses through the intergranular space and makes way up to the lunar exosphere through seepages and faults.
Schematic of the origin and dynamics of 40Ar in lunar exosphere
The Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) payload aboard the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, is a neutral mass spectrometer-based payload which can detect constituents in the lunar neutral exosphere in the range of 1-300 amu (atomic mass unit). As part of its early operation, it has detected 40Ar in the lunar exosphere from an altitude of ~100 km, capturing the day-night variations of concentration. 40Ar being a condensable gas at the temperatures and pressures that prevail on the lunar surface, condenses during lunar night. After lunar dawn, the 40Ar starts getting released to the lunar exosphere (blue shaded region in figure).
Variation of Argon-40 observed during one orbit of Chandrayaan-2 during dayside and nightside of the Moon. The observed partial pressure has to be refined for the background and other effects to infer the density of lunar exospheric argon. The observations when Chandrayaan-2 was on the nightside is indicated by the black solid rectangle at the top of the panel and the two vertical dashed lines. Being in a polar orbit, Chandrayaan-2 enters the dayside of the Moon crossing the north pole, traverses through the dayside and enters the nightside after crossing the southpole.
October 22, 2019
Initial imaging and observations by Chandrayaan-2 Dual-Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DF-SAR)
Moon has been continuously bombarded by meteorites, asteroids and comets since its formation. This has resulted in the formation of innumerable impact craters that form the most distinct geographic features on its surface. Impact craters are approximately circular depressions on the surface of the moon, ranging from small, simple, bowl-shaped depressions to large, complex, multi-ringed impact basins. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters typically have raised rims and floors that are lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain. The study of the nature, size, distribution and composition of impact craters and associated ejecta features reveal valuable information about the origin and evolution of craters. Weathering processes result in many of the crater physical features and ejecta material get covered by layers of regolith, making some of them undetectable using optical cameras. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a powerful remote sensing instrument for studying planetary surfaces and subsurface due to the ability of the radar signal to penetrate the surface. It is also sensitive to the roughness, structure and composition of the surface material and the buried terrain.
Previous lunar-orbiting SAR systems such as the S-band hybrid-polarimetric SAR on ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 and the S & X-band hybrid-polarimetric SAR on NASA’s LRO, provided valuable data on the scattering characterisation of ejecta materials of lunar impact craters. However, L & S band SAR on Chandraayan-2 is designed to produce greater details about the morphology and ejecta materials of impact craters due to its ability of imaging with higher resolution (2 - 75m slant range) and full-polarimetric modes in standalone as well as joint modes in S and L-band with wide range of incidence angle coverage (9.5° - 35°). In addition, the greater depth of penetration of L-band (3-5 meters) enables probing the buried terrain at greater depths. The L & S band SAR payload helps in unambiguously identifying and quantitatively estimating the lunar polar water-ice in permanently shadowed regions.
A convenient approach towards discerning the radar information is to prepare images using two derived parameters, ‘m’ the degree of polarization and ‘δ’ the relative phase between the transmit-receive polarized signals. These parameters are used to generate colour composite images with ‘even-bounce’, ‘volume or diffused’ and ‘odd-bounce’ scatterings of a pixel represented in red (R), green(G), and blue (B) image planes, respectively. The genesis of the scattering mechanism is as illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Conceptual diagram explaining different types of Radar scattering mechanisms on lunar surface and sub-surface
Figure 2 is one of the m- δ decomposition images from the first datasets acquired over lunar south polar regions in L-band high-resolution (2mslant-range resolution) hybrid polarimetric mode. It is important to note that the obtained resolution is one-order better than the earlier best by a lunar-radar. This image presents many interesting facts about the secondary craters of different ages and origins in the lunar south polar region. The yellowish tone around crater rims in the image shows ejecta fields. The distribution of ejecta fields, whether uniformly distributed in all directions or oriented towards a particular side of a crater, indicates the nature of the impact. The image shows craters of vertical impact and oblique impact on the top-right and bottom-right, respectively. Similarly, the roughness of the ejecta materials associated with the impact craters indicates the degree of weathering a crater has undergone. Three similar sized craters along a row on the bottom-right of the image show examples of young crater, moderately weathered crater and an old degraded crater. Many of the ejecta fields seen in the image are not visible in high-resolution optical image over the same region, indicating the ejecta fields are buried beneath regolith layers.
Figure 2
Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter’s DF-SAR has been operated in full-polarimetry mode- a gold standard in SAR polarimetry, and is the first-ever by any planetary SAR instrument. Figure 3 shows an L-band fully-polarimetric, 20m slant-range resolution image of Pitiscus-T crater. The image is a colour composite of different transmit-receive polarization responses of the imaged region.
Figure-3
October 17, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 begins spectroscopic studies of lunar surface
Imaging Infrared Spectrometer (IIRS) on-board Chandrayaan-2 is designed to measure the reflected sunlight and emitted part of Moon light from the lunar surface in narrow and contiguous spectral channels (bands) ranging from ~800 – 5000 nanometer (0.8-5.0 micrometer (µm)). It uses a grating to split and disperse the reflected sunlight (and emitted component) into different spectral bands. The major objective of IIRS is to understand the origin and evolution of the Moon in a geologic context by mapping the lunar surface mineral and volatile composition using signatures in the reflected solar spectrum.
The first illuminated image of the lunar surface was acquired by IIRS. The image covers part of the lunar farside in the northern hemisphere. Few prominent craters are seen in the image (Sommerfield, Stebbins and Kirkwood).
Preliminary analysis suggests that IIRS could successfully measure the variations in the reflected solar radiation that bounces off the lunar surface from different kinds of surface types, namely, crater central peaks (e.g., Stebbins), crater floors (e.g., Stebbins and Sommerfield), very fresh reworked ejecta associated with small craterlets within the crater floor of a large crater (e.g., Sommerfield) and also the sun-illuminated inner rims of craters (e.g., Kirkwood). The variations in the spectral radiance are primarily due to the mineralogical/compositional variations that exist in the lunar surface and also due to the effect of space weathering. More detailed analysis that follows, is expected to yield important results on the heterogeneity of lunar surface composition.
October 10, 2019
Many violent phenomena continuously keep occurring on surface of the Sun and its atmosphere known as the corona. This solar activity follows an eleven-year cycle, which means, it goes through its 'solar maxima' and 'solar minima' once every eleven years. While the cumulative emission of solar X-rays emitted over a year varies with the solar cycle, these are often punctuated with extremely large x-ray intensity variations over very short periods, few minutes to hours. Such episodes are known as solar flares.
Chandrayaan-2 orbiter utilizes X-rays emitted by the Sun in a clever way to study elements on the lunar surface. Solar X-rays excite atoms of constituent elements on the lunar surface. These atoms when de-excited emit their characteristic X-rays (a fingerprint of each atom). By detecting these characteristic X-rays, it becomes possible to identify various major elements of the lunar surface. However, in order to determine their concentration, it is essential to have simultaneous knowledge of the incident solar X-ray spectrum.
The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter carries two instruments, Chandrayaan 2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) and Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM), to measure the lunar elemental composition using this technique. Here, the CLASS payload detects the characteristic lines from the lunar surface and the XSM payload simultaneously measures the solar X-ray spectrum.
Currently, the solar cycle is heading towards minima and the Sun has been extremely quiet for past few months. On 30th September 2019 00:00 UTC - 1st October 2019 23:59 UTC, a series of small flares were observed by XSM.
The figure shows the solar X-ray flux as measured by XSM (in blue) during this period, and for comparison, the flux measured by X-ray sensor on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-15) is also shown (in orange), which is considered the standard for solar X-ray intensity measurement.It shows that XSM is able to detect the intensity variations of the Sun much beyond the sensitivity limit of GOES. The gaps seen in GOES light curve around 09:00 UTC are due to instrumental artifacts. The GOES data was obtained from the National Center for Environmental Information of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA.
Apart from the better sensitivity, XSM also measures the spectrum of solar X-ray in the energy range of 1 - 15 keV with highest energy resolution so far for any broadband solar X-ray spectrometer over intervals as short as 1 second.
Although this solar flare observed at present may not enable the study of the lunar surface composition due to the large angle between Sun, lunar surface and Chandrayaan-2 (close to 90 deg in this case against a desirable low value, close to zero), such XSM observations provide very useful data to understand various processes on the Sun.
October 04, 2019
October 03, 2019
Our Sun emits a continuous outflowing stream of electrons and protons into the solar system, called the solar wind. The solar wind plasma which has charged particles embedded in the extended magnetic field of the Sun, moves at speeds of a few hundred km per second. It interacts with solar system bodies including Earth and its moon. Since the Earth has a global magnetic field, it obstructs the solar wind plasma and this interaction results in the formation of a magnetic envelope around Earth, called the magnetosphere.
The Earth’s magnetosphere is compressed into a region approximately three to four times the Earth radius (~22000 km above the surface) on the side facing the Sun, but is stretched into a long tail (geotail) on the opposite side that goes beyond the orbit of Moon. Approximately, once every 29 days, Moon traverses the geotail for about 6 days centered around full moon. Thus Chandrayaan-2 also crosses this geotail and its instruments can study properties of geotail at a few hundred thousand kilometers from Earth.
The CLASS instrument on Chandrayaan-2 is designed to detect direct signatures of elements present in the lunar soil. This is best observed when a solar flare on the Sun provides a rich source of x-rays to illuminate the lunar surface; secondary x-ray emission resulting from this can be detected by CLASS to directly detect the presence of key elements like Na, Ca, Al, Si, Ti and Fe.
While this kind of “flash photography” requires one to await an opportune time for Sun to be active, CLASS in its first few days of observation, could detect charged particles and its intensity variations during its first passage through the geotail during Sept.
The figure shows the change in intensity of particle events (believed to be mostly electrons), sometimes as much as 10 times the levels outside the geotail, indicating complex interplay with the magnetic field.
More detailed studies in future along with observations from other space missions, will enable a multi-point study, essential to unravel the “dance of electrons to the music of magnetic fields” around Moon.
September 19, 2019
- All Payloads of orbiter are powered.
- Initial trials for orbiter Payloads are completed successfully.
- Performance of all orbiter Payloads is satisfactory.
- Orbiter continues to perform scheduled science experiments to complete satisfaction.
- National level committee consisting of academicians and ISRO experts are analyzing the cause of communication loss with lander.
September 10, 2019
Vikram lander has been located by the orbiter of Chandrayaan-2, but no communication with it yet. All possible efforts are being made to establish communication with lander
September 7, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 mission was a highly complex mission, which represented a significant technological leap compared to the previous missions of ISRO, which brought together an Orbiter, Lander and Rover to explore the unexplored south pole of the Moon. Since the launch of Chandrayaan-2 on July 22, 2019, not only India but the whole world watched its progress from one phase to the next with great expectations and excitement. This was a unique mission which aimed at studying not just one area of the Moon but all the areas combining the exosphere, the surface as well as the sub-surface of the moon in a single mission. The Orbiter has already been placed in its intended orbit around the Moon and shall enrich our understanding of the moon’s evolution and mapping of the minerals and water molecules in the Polar Regions, using its eight state-of-the-art scientific instruments. The Orbiter camera is the highest resolution camera (0.3m) in any lunar mission so far and shall provide high resolution images which will be immensely useful to the global scientific community. The precise launch and mission management has ensured a long life of almost 7 years instead of the planned one year. The Vikram Lander followed the planned descent trajectory from its orbit of 35 km to just below 2 km above the surface. All the systems and sensors of the Lander functioned excellently until this point and proved many new technologies such as variable thrust propulsion technology used in the Lander. The success criteria was defined for each and every phase of the mission and till date 90 to 95% of the mission objectives have been accomplished and will continue contribute to Lunar science , notwithstanding the loss of communication with the Lander.
September 4, 2019
The second de-orbiting maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (September 04, 2019) beginning at 0342 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 9 seconds.
The orbit of Vikram Lander is 35 km x 101 km. Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in an orbit of 96 km x 125 km and both the Orbiter and Lander are healthy.
With this maneuver the required orbit for the Vikram Lander to commence it descent towards the surface of the Moon is achieved. The Lander is scheduled to powered descent between 0100 - 0200 hrs IST on September 07, 2019, which is then followed by touch down of Lander between 0130 - 0230 hrs IST
September 3, 2019
The first de-orbiting maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (September 03, 2019) beginning at 0850 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 4 seconds.
The orbit of Vikram Lander is 104 km x 128 km. Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in the existing orbit and both the Orbiter and Lander are healthy.
The next de-orbiting maneuver is scheduled on September 04, 2019 between 0330 - 0430 hrs IST.
September 2, 2019
Live media coverage of the landing of Chandrayaan-2 on lunar surface
The soft landing of Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander on lunar surface is scheduled between 1:30 am to 2:30 am on Saturday, September 07, 2019. This will be followed by the Rover roll out between 5:30 am to 6:30 am. A Press Meet with Chairman, ISRO is also being planned between 8:00 am to 9:00 am.
Based on the interest shown by media across the country, ISRO invites accredited media persons to cover this important event live from Satellite Control Centre (SCC) building, ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), I cross, I phase, Peenya Industrial Estate, Bangalore – 560 058 (Google Map link https://goo.gl/maps/sHcmDEL8Q6tKVFX39).
In this regard attention is invited on following key points
- The media persons have to confirm their participation for live coverage to the respective Press Information Bureaus (PIBs) of their region by 2:00 pm of Wednesday, September 04, 2019.
- Registration of the media persons will be at SCC, ISTRAC in the afternoon of September 06, 2019 from 2:00 pm onwards.
Following documents are to be brought for registration.
- Government issued Photo ID Card (Original and Photocopy)
- Accreditation card/ Media Card (Original and Photocopy)
Following form/pass will be issued to the media after the registration
- Media Pass for entry into SCC campus
- Equipment List
- Media persons have to make their own arrangement to reach SCC, ISTRAC, I cross, I phase, Peenya Industrial Estate, Bangalore – 560 058 for registration and also for covering the event live.
- And, for covering the landing event live at Satellite Control Centre (SCC), campus of ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), I cross, I phase, Peenya Industrial Estate, Bangalore – 560 058, media persons have to necessarily bring the media pass and the duly filled up equipment list, both issued by us on the afternoon of September 06, 2019 during registration as well as their original photo ID cards/Media Id cards or Accreditation cards.
- Please note that the schedule of the Press Meet is tentative.
September 2, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 update: Vikram Lander successfully separates from Orbiter
The Vikram Lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter at 1315 Hrs IST today (September02, 2019). The Vikram Lander is currently located in an orbit of 119 km x 127 km. The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in its existing orbit. The health of the Orbiter and Lander is being monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru. All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Lander are healthy. The next maneuver is scheduled tomorrow (September 03, 2019) between 0845-0945 hrs IST
September 01, 2019
Fifth Lunar Orbit Maneuver
The final and fifth Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (September 01, 2019) beginning at 1821 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 52 seconds. The orbit achieved is 119 km x 127 km.
All spacecraft parameters are normal.
The next operation is the separation of Vikram Lander from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, which is scheduled on September 02, 2019, between 1245 – 1345 hrs (IST). Following this, there will be two deorbit maneuvers of Vikram Lander to prepare for its landing in the south polar region of the moon.
Tentative plan for future operations after today’s maneuver are as follows,
| Date | Time (IST) | Orbit around moon |
Vikram Separation | September 02, 2019 | 12:45 – 13:45 |
|
Deorbit #1 | September 03, 2019 | 09:00 – 10:00 | 109 km x 120 km |
Deorbit #2 | September 04, 2019 | 03:00 – 04:00 | 36 km x 110 km |
Powered Descent | September 07, 2019 |
| |
Vikram Touch Down | September 07, 2019 | 01:30 – 02:30 |
|
August 30, 2019
Fourth Lunar Orbit Maneuver
Fourth Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 30, 2019) beginning at 1818 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 1155 seconds. The orbit achieved is 124 km x 164 km.
All spacecraft parameters are normal.
The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on September 01, 2019 between 1800 - 1900 hrs IST.
August 28, 2019
Third Lunar Orbit Maneuver
Third Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 28, 2019) beginning at 0904 hrs IST, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 1190 seconds. The orbit achieved is 179 km x 1412 km.
All spacecraft parameters are normal.
The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on August 30, 2019 between 1800 - 1900 hrs IST.
August 26, 2019
Lunar surface imaged by Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC-2) on 23rd August 2019 at an altitude of ~4375 km showing impact craters such as Jackson, Mitra, Mach and Korolev.
Jackson is an impact crater located in the northern hemisphere of the far side of the Moon. It is a 71 km dia crater at 22.4°N and 163.1°W (shown in the inset). The interesting feature at the western outer rim of Mach crater is another impact crater, Mitra (92 km dia). It is named after Prof. Sisir Kumar Mitra, who was an Indian physicist and Padma Bhushan recipient known for his pioneering work in the field of ionosphere and Radiophysics. The Korolev crater seen in the image is a 437 km crater which has several small craters of varying sizes.
Lunar surface imaged by Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC-2) on 23rd August 2019 at an altitude of ~4375 km showing impact craters such as Sommerfeld and Kirkwood.
Sommerfeld is a large impact crater located in the farside northern latitudes of the Moon. It is a 169km dia crater at 65.2°N and 162.4°W. It has relatively flat interior surrounded by a ring mountain and a number of smaller craters lie along the rim edge. The crater is named after Dr. Arnold Sommerfeld who is a German physicist pioneered in the field of atomic and quantum physics. North east to this crater lies the Kirkwood crater named after the American astronomer Daniel Kirkwood, another well-formed impact crater which is approximately 68 km dia.
Lunar north polar region imaged by Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC-2) on 23rd August 2019 at an altitude of ~4375 km showing impact craters such as Plaskett (109km), Rozhdestvenskiy (177km) and Hermite (104 km ; one of the coldest spots in the solar system ~ 25K).
August 22, 2019
Moon as viewed by Chandrayaan-2 LI4 Camera on 21 August 2019 19:03 UT
August 21, 2019
Second Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 21, 2019) beginning at 1250 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 1228 seconds. The orbit achieved is 118 km x 4412 km.
All spacecraft parameters are normal.
The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on August 28, 2019 between 0530 - 0630 hrs IST.
August 20, 2019
August 20, 2019
Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) maneuver was completed successfully today (August 20, 2019). The duration of maneuver was 1738 seconds beginning from 0902 hrs IST. With this, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into a Lunar orbit. The orbit achieved is 114 km x 18072 km.
Following this, a series of orbit maneuvers will be performed on Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to enable it to enter its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon’s surface.
Subsequently, the lander will separate from the Orbiter and enters into a 100 km X 30 km orbit around the Moon. Then, it will perform a series of complex braking maneuvers to soft land in the South polar region of the Moon on September 7, 2019.
The health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru. All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 are healthy.
The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled tomorrow (August 21, 2019) between 1230-13:30 hrs IST.
August 19, 2019
A Press Meet will be held at 1100 hrs (11:00 AM) on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at ISRO Headquarters, New BEL Road, Bengaluru 560094 on ‘Chandrayaan-2 Mission after Lunar Orbit Insertion’.
All Media houses are invited to cover this event.
August 14, 2019
August 6, 2019
Fifth earth bound orbit raising maneuver for Chandryaan-2 spacecraft has been performed successfully today (August 6, 2019) at 1504 hrs (IST) as planned, using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 1041 seconds. The orbit achieved is 276 x 142975 km.
All spacecraft parameters are normal.
The next maneuver is Trans Lunar Insertion (TLI), which is scheduled on August 14, 2019, between 0300 – 0400 hrs (IST).
August 2, 2019
Fourth earth bound orbit raising maneuver for Chandryaan-2 spacecraft has been performed successfully today (August 2, 2019) at 1527 hrs (IST) as planned, using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 646 seconds. The orbit achieved is 277 x 89472 km.
All spacecraft parameters are normal.
The next orbit raising maneuver is scheduled on August 6, 2019, between 1430 – 1530 hrs (IST).
July 29, 2019
Third earth bound orbit raising maneuver for Chandryaan-2 spacecraft has been performed successfully today (July 29, 2019) at 1512 hrs (IST) as planned, using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 989 seconds. The orbit achieved is 276 x 71792 km.
All spacecraft parameters are normal.
The fourth orbit raising maneuver is scheduled on August 2, 2019, between 1400 – 1500 hrs (IST).
July 26, 2019
Second earth bound orbit raising maneuver for Chandryaan-2 spacecraft has been performed successfully today (July 26, 2019) at 0108 hrs (IST) as planned, using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 883 seconds. The orbit achieved is 251 x 54829 km.
All spacecraft parameters are normal.
The third orbit raising maneuver is scheduled on July 29, 2019, between 1430 – 1530 hrs (IST).
July 24, 2019
First earth bound orbit raising maneuver for Chandryaan-2 spacecraft has been performed successfully today (July 24, 2019) at 1452 hrs (IST) as planned, using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 48 seconds. The new orbit will be 230 X 45163 km.
The second orbit raising maneuver is scheduled on July 26, 2019, at 0109 hrs (IST).
July 24, 2019
July 22, 2019
GSLV MkIII-M1 Successfully Launches Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft.
July 22, 2019
Honorable Prime Minister Congratulates Team ISRO for the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2.
July 22, 2019
Filling of Liquid Oxygen in cryogenic stage(C25) of GSLV MkIII-M1 Completed.
July 22, 2019
Filling of Liquid Hydrogen in cryogenic stage(C25) of GSLV MkIII-M1 Completed.
July 22, 2019
Filling of liquid Hydrogen in Cryogenic stage(C25) of GSLV MkIII-M1 commenced.
July 22, 2019
GSLV MkIII-M1/Chandrayaan 2: Filling of liquid oxygen in Cryogenic stage(C25) of GSLV MkIII-M1 commenced.
July 22, 2019
Filling of N204 for the Liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV MkIII-M1 completed today(22-07-2019) at 0240 hrs IST.
July 22, 2019
GSLV MkIII-M1/Chandrayaan-2: Filling of N204 for the Liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV MkIII-M1 commenced.
July 21, 2019
UH25 (fuel) filling of liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV MkIII-M1 commenced.
July 21, 2019
UH25 (fuel) filling of liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV MkIII-M1 completed.
July 21, 2019
The launch countdown of GSLV MkIII-M1/Chandrayaan-2 commenced today at 1843 Hrs IST. The launch is scheduled at 1443 Hrs IST on July 22, 2019.
July 20, 2019
Launch rehearsal completed, performance normal
July 18, 2019
Online registration for viewers gallery
Chandrayaan - 2 launch scheduled on July 15, 2019 at 02:51 AM IST was called off, due to technical snag, is now rescheduled on July 22, 2019 at 02:43 PM IST from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
To witness the launch live from viewer's gallery at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota online registration process will commence from 06 PM IST on July 19, 2019.
Online Registration to witness GSLV MkIII-M1 / Chandrayaan2 Mission
July 18, 2019
CHANDRAYAAN -2 LAUNCH RESCHEDULED ON 22ND JULY, 2019, AT 14:43 HRS.
Chandrayaan - 2 launch scheduled on 15th July, 2019 at 2:51hrs was called off due to a technical snag noticed at around one hour before launch. An expert committee was constituted to analyze the issue and suggest remedial action.
The expert committee identified the root cause of the technical snag and all corrective actions are implemented. Thereafter, the system performance is normal.
Chandrayaan - 2 launch is now rescheduled on 22nd July, 2019 at 14:43 hrs from Second launch pad of SDSC, Sriharikota.
July 15, 2019
A technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system at one hour before the launch. As a measure of abundant precaution Chandrayaan-2 launch has been called off for today. Revised launch date will be announced later.
July 15, 2019
Filling of liquid oxygen in Cryogenic stage of GSLV MkIII-M1 completed
July 15, 2019
Filling of liquid oxygen in Cryogenic stage completed and filling up of liquid hydrogen commenced
July 14, 2019
Filling of liquid oxygen in Cryogenic stage commenced.
July 14, 2019
GSLV MkIII-M1/Chandrayaan-2: Propellant filling of liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV MkIII-M1 completed
July 14, 2019
UH25 (fuel) filling of liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV MkIII-M1 completed
July 14, 2019
Propellant filling of Liquid stage (L110) of GSLV MkIII-M1 is in progress
July 14, 2019
The launch countdown of GSLV MkIII-M1/Chandrayaan-2 commenced today at 0651 Hrs IST. The launch is scheduled at 0251Hrs IST on July 15th.
July 12, 2019
- Launch rehearsal completed.
- Pre fill pressurisation of propellant tanks completed.
July 11, 2019
- Launch Vehicle battery charging carried out.
- Routine launch related checks in-progress.
July 10, 2019
- Shroud final assembly completed
- Cryogenic stage (C25) On Board Elementary checks completed
- Liquid stage (L110) control system checks completed
July 9, 2019
Routing and termination of pyros, pressure sensors, Umbilical Connection Unit(UCU) separation connector cables end to end checks completed.
July 8, 2019
Full Dress Rehearsal-1 (FDR-1) in progress.
July 7, 2019
1. GSLV MkIII-M1 moved to launch pad.
2. Spacecraft is powered and health check in progress.
July 6, 2019
Launch vehicle ready for movement to launch pad
July 5, 2019
1. Link checks for lander & orbiter from ground station in progress.
2. Vehicle phase 3 level 2A checks completed.
July 4, 2019
Integration of encapsulated assembly of Chandrayaan-2 with launch vehicle completed.
July 2, 2019
1.Equipment bay camera cowling assembly completed.
2. Radio frequency checks completed with Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft.
3. Payload fairing assembly in progress.
July 2, 2019
Online registration process for witnessing the forthcoming GSLV MKIII-M1 / Chandrayaan-2 mission will commence @ 00:00 hrs on 04th July 2019
July 1, 2019
Chandrayaan -2 getting ready for integration with GSLV launcher.
June 30, 2019
1. Electrical checks and pyro arming of the vehicle completed.
2.Launch vehicle battery charging completed.
June 30, 2019
1. Electrical checks and pyro arming of the vehicle completed.
2.Launch vehicle battery charging completed.
June 29, 2019
Vikram lander (assembled with Pragyan Rover) integrated with Orbiter.
June 29, 2019
Rover after completion of all tests integrated with lander Vikram
June 28, 2019
GSLV MkIII-M1/Chandrayaan 2: Assembly of the batteries for all stages of launch vehicle completed
June 18, 2019
Chandrayaan2 - From Pole to Pole
June 03, 2019
The challenges of a Moon landing
May 15, 2019
Benefits of Chandrayaan-2
May 14, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 update
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