Chandrayaan-2: ‘It’s going to make me groggy on Monday morning but...’: Anand Mahindra sums up thoughts of Indians as ISRO sets its sights on the skies

Indians are used to stay up late in the night for sports matches, but there’s a more important reason to be awake post midnight on Monday. India is set to accomplish a massive feat as the Chandrayaan-2 will be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at 2.51 AM. Chairman of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra, summed up perfectly what most citizens are expected to feel as the Moon exploration mission would be set off after the conclusion of the weekend and the beginning of the first working day of the week. The business tycoon stated that despite the possibility of feeling ‘groggy’ due to lack of sleep, he was willing to watch the launch since according to him, ISRO has become ‘much more than a space agency’ as it ‘unites us Indians on the ground’ while setting its ‘sights on the skies.’ 

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Hours before the launch took place, Mahindra tweeted, “It’s going to make me groggy on Monday morning but I’m going to stay up to watch this. ISRO has become much, much more than a space agency. Ironically, even as it sets its sights on the skies, it unites us Indians on the ground... “ 

Earlier, Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha, whose ‘Mission Mangal’ is also based on India’s well-known space mission, Mangalyaan or the Mars Orbiter Mission, had also conveyed their best wishes to ISRO on the upcoming achievement.

Chandrayaan 2 has two main cost components - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) 'Bahubali' rocket and the Lunar module (orbiter, Lander 'Vikram' and rover 'Pragyan'). 

READ: Chandrayaan 2: India's Lunar Mission Is Cheaper Than Avengers' Endgame And Bandra Worli Sea Link. Read How Much It Costs Here

The rover and probe will do extensive mapping of the lunar surface to studying variations in Moon's composition, thus further gaining knowledge of the moon's origins. Following its predecessor - Chandrayaan 1's conformation of water molecules on Moon, this mission also aims at studying the extent of its distribution on the lunar surface and sub-surface. As the South pole is the chosen site of study, Chandrayaan 2 aims at studying the craters which are cold traps, containing a fossilised record of the early Solar System.