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Published 12:14 IST, August 20th 2019

Chandrayaan-2 enters lunar orbit, ISRO says 'milestone crossed'

Chandrayaan-2, India's moon mission entered lunar orbit on Tuesday 9:02 hours, informed ISRO. India is waiting for Sept 7 for its soft landing

Reported by: Navashree Nandini
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Chandrayaan-2 enters lunar orbit on Tuesday making it a major victory for the nation. With it, an important milestone is achieved by the country. Announcing about the feat, the ISRO statement said: "Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) maneuver was completed successfully today (August 20, 2019) at 0902 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of maneuver was 1738 seconds. With this, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into a Lunar orbit. The orbit achieved is 114 km x 18072 km." The Chandrayaan 2 landing date next is September 7. 

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Chandrayaan 2 - India's moon mission - next stop

The achievement that the country is now eyeing with Chandrayaan 2 is to soft-land on the Moon's south pole. The ISRO said that Lander Vikram will soft-land on Moon on September 7, 2019. As the Chandrayaan 2 landing date nears, the country is looking forward to registering itself in the elite group of countries. The ISRO also explained why it has chosen the South Pole for its landing. 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.

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It said that the craters have been untouched by sunlight for billions of years and is permanently shadowed craters are estimated to hold nearly 100 million tons of water. ISRO added: "The elemental and positional advantages make it a suitable pit stop for future space exploration."

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What comprises Chandrayaan 2?

The Chandrayaan 2 comprises of - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) 'Bahubali' rocket and the Lunar module (orbiter, Lander 'Vikram' and rover 'Pragyan').

  • Bahubali - The 640-tonne GSLV Mk-III rocket stands 43 meters tall and has three stages for initial thrust, core booster, and cryogenic engine.
  • Lunar orbiter - The orbiter with eight payloads weighing 2310 kg, will orbit the moon with a lunar orbit of 100 km
  • Lander 'Vikram' - Named after India's space pioneer Vikram Sarabhai with four payloads, Vikram will land on the moon after separating from the orbiter and descend slowly up to 30km for a soft landing.
  • Rover 'Pragyan'- The six-wheeled rover with two payloads, will roam on the moon's surface

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Updated 13:04 IST, August 20th 2019

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