Mittwoch, 10. Juli 2019 - 07:45

Raumfahrt - Startvorbereitung für ISRO´s Chandrayaan II-Mond-Mission 2019 -Update-2

2.05.2019

India plans Chandrayaan-2 mission in July: Key things to know

The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) much-awaited moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, is now scheduled to launch any time between July 9 and July 16 with an expected landing on September 6. Chandrayaan-2 is India's second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1.

The mission has been delayed four times since March 2018. Earlier, Chandrayaan-2 was scheduled for launch in a window from January-February but ISRO had deferred it to March-April.

India, however, is being very cautious in taking the latest decision. The first trigger was the failure of their GSAT-6A launch in March last year and in the backdrop of Israel's unsuccessful attempt to land on Moon. Israeli spacecraft, Beresheet crashed during moon landing on April 11.

"We saw Israel's example and we don't want to take any risk. Despite Israel being such a technologically advanced country, the mission failed. We want the mission to be a success," an ISRO official had told PTI.

Chandrayaan-2 weighs more than the Israeli spacecraft making it more difficult for ISRO to have a successful landing on the Moon.

ISRO is cautious about Chandrayaan-2 as it is their first mission to land on any celestial body and it is refraining from any such failures.

In ISRO's update on Wednesday, the space agency said the three modules -- Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan) -- of Chandrayaan-2 are getting ready for July launch.

The Orbiter and Lander modules will be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the GSLV MK-III launch vehicle.

The Rover is housed inside the Lander, it said in a statement. The integrated module will reach the moon orbit using Orbiter propulsion module after its launch into earth-bound orbit by GSLV MK-III. It might take 35 to 45 days to reach the Moon after the launch.

The objective of the mission is primarily an exploration one and will use and test various new technologies and conduct new experiments. It is also to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface.

Once landed, the rover will move on the lunar surface and will perform on-site chemical analysis. The data will be relayed to Earth through the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which will piggyback on the same launch. Instruments would also be

mounted on the Lander and Orbiter for carrying out scientific experiments, the statement said.

Scientific goals of Chandrayaan include study of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.

Quelle: CNBC

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India set to launch second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 in July, landing by September

The ISRO has announced the Rs 800-crore mission will be launched on the new and powerful GSLV-Mk-III, and will consist of an orbiter, a lander and a rover.

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Bengaluru: India’s much-awaited second moon mission — Chandrayaan-2 — is likely to be launched between 9 July and 16 July, ISRO announced Wednesday. The landing of the spacecraft on the lunar surface is expected by 6 September.

The Rs 800-crore mission will be launched on the new and powerful GSLV-Mk-III, and will consist of three modules — an orbiter, a lander (Vikram), and a rover (Pragyan) that will move on the surface.

The mission has been in the making for several years now and was plagued by a series of problems, causing much delay for the launch. Just last month, the Vikram lander failed a testwhen its legs fractured, causing the mission to be pushed back further.

How will the mission function?

While the orbiter of the spacecraft will go around the moon, the Vikram lander will land on the lunar surface and remain stationed as a base. The Pragyan rover, which will be deployed from the lander, will move on the lunar surface.

“The orbiter and lander modules will be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the GSLV MK-III launch vehicle,” said the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in a statement. “The rover is housed inside the lander,” it added.

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A chart showing the landing site for the Chandrayaan – 2 | ISRO

There are a total of 12 confirmed scientific payloads on the mission. These payloads will analyse the surface of the moon, perform mineral studies, monitor quakes on the moon, study the lunar exosphere and send photographs back to the earth, among other activities. All the payloads are Indian except for one American payload given by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

The landing site on the moon, which is yet unnamed, is close to the South Pole in the vicinity of the impactor from Chandrayaan-1 that crashed on the surface and was able to contribute to the discovery of water on the moon.

Orbital path

Just like Chandrayaan-1 and Mars Orbiter Mission, the Chandrayaan-2 will also perform orbit raising manoeuvres around the Earth six times to gain the required height and speed to break away from the Earth’s gravity.

This six-step process is a staple procedure followed by the ISRO with the objective of reducing cost of fuel and launching with a home-grown rocket that is as of now incapable of flying directly to the moon, like Saturn V rocket did for the Apollo missions.

While the Saturn V sent the Apollo 11 carrying Neil Armstrong to the moon in just over a week, Chandrayaan-2 will take nearly two months to undertake the same journey.

On successful landing, India will become the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to achieve a soft landing on the moon.

Quelle: The Print

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Update: 22.05.2019

Chandrayaan 2 launch date set at July 9-16, will explore uncharted land

The Chandrayaan-2, which is set to cost about Rs 800 crore, will involve unloading of a rover to study the Moon.

India’ ambitious moon mission Chandrayaan 2 will be launched after July 9, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman Dr. K Sivan said of the mission that missed an earlier launch window in January.

“Chandrayaan 2 is going to be a landmark mission for India which will be launched between July 9 and 16. Chandrayan 2 is the most challenging mission undertaken by ISRO. It will land at a place where nobody else has landed before,” Sivan said, according to news agency ANI.

The Chandrayaan-2, which is set to cost about Rs 800 crore, will involve unloading of a rover to study the Moon.

Speaking about the moon mission in January Sivan had said that ISRO was looking at having a woman astronaut in the mission, although he did not specify how many people would be a part of it.

“We want women astronauts also to be a part of the mission. In my opinion, we have to train both men and women,” Sivan had said in response to a question.

The ISRO chief also said there were plans to open ground stations in neighbouring countries as well as in Russia and Japan. “We need ground stations in neighbouring countries to achieve increased accuracy in navigation systems and mainly to download satellite data and this is a normal phenomenon globally,” Sivan said.

Quelle: hindiustantimes

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Update: 26.05.2019

India plans July launch of Chandrayaan 2 moon mission

Indian engineers hope to launch the country’s first robotic lunar lander between July 9 and July 16 on India’s most powerful rocket, the head of the Indian space agency said this week.

The robotic Chandrayaan 2 mission will launch on the heaviest rocket in India’s inventory, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.3, from the country’s spaceport on Sriharikota Island, located on the coast with the Bay of Bengal around 50 miles (80 kilometers) north Chennai.

The mission’s week-long launch period opens July 9, according to K. Sivan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization. Chandrayaan 2 is the next mission on India’s launch calendar after Wednesday’s liftoff of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying the RISAT 2B radar observation satellite.

“The next mission is the most complex mission ISRO has ever undertaken, that is the Chandrayaan 2 mission,” Sivan said in remarks after Wednesday’s launch of RISAT 2B. “It is not only a launch mission. We are going to land precisely at a place where nobody’s ever gone. This is challenging for the whole ISRO team. I don’t have any doubt that team ISRO will achieve the target of this mission, with the precision of what we’re aiming for.”

The launch of Chandrayaan 2 would come just shy of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 and landing.

Chandrayaan 2 consists of three segments, an orbiter module to guide the spacecraft to the moon, a descent stage to land on the lunar surface, and a rover to scout the landing site in the southern lunar highlands.

If the launch occurs in the July window, Chandrayaan 2’s landing is scheduled for Sept. 6, Sivan said.

The mission will be India’s first attempt at a lunar landing, seeking to become the fourth country to accomplish a soft landing on the moon after the former Soviet Union, the United States and China.

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An infographic on the Chandrayaan 1 and Chandrayaan 2 missions. Credit: ISRO

India launched its first lunar orbiter, named Chandrayaan 1, in 2008. One of Chandrayaan 1’s major accomplishments was the discovery of water-bearing molecules at the moon’s poles, with the highest concentrations inside permanently-shadowed craters at the south pole.

Chandrayaan 2 will aim for touchdown in an unexplored region of the moon, targeting a landing closer to the lunar south pole than any previous mission.

The expected landing site is located at approximately 71 degrees south latitude, roughly 220 miles (350 kilometers) from the rim of the South Pole-Aitken basin, a region scientists believe is one of the most ancient impact sites in the solar system, created when a large asteroid or comet struck the moon billions of years ago.

For the first time, Chandrayaan 2’s rover could examine ancient material in the lunar crust ejected during the colossal collision that created the South Pole-Aitken basin, providing data that could yield clues about the solar system’s chaotic early history. The rover, named Pragyan, carries an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer to measure the elemental composition of the rocks at the Chandrayaan 2 landing site, along with a laser-induced breakdown spectroscope.

China accomplished the first soft landing on the far side of the moon in January in the mid-latitudes of the southern hemisphere, within the South Pole-Aitken basin. The Chang’e 4 mission’s stationary lander and rover are still operational.

But Chang’e 4 did not carry an X-ray spectrometer to obtain elemental measurements of the lunar crust. The presence of such an instrument on-board Chandrayaan 2 could be boon for lunar geologists.

Five science payloads will each operate on the Chandrayaan 2 lander, dubbed Vikram, and the mission’s orbiter component. The instruments include spectrometers, radars, plasma sensors and cameras.

The Chandrayaan 2 landing craft also carries a passive laser retro-reflector provided by NASA to allow precise measurements between the Earth and the moon, and potentially become a node in a lunar navigation network to help guide future missions.

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File photo of a GSLV Mk.3 launch. Credit: ISRO

Chandrayaan 2 will launch on the first operational flight of the GSLV Mk.3, India’s most powerful rocket. The GSLV Mk.3 is powered by two side-mounted solid rocket boosters, among the biggest solid-fueled rockets in the world, generating 2.2 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.

An air-lit core stage with two hydrazine-fueled Vikas engines and an upper stage with a hydrogen-fueled engine will send the Chandrayaan 2 mission into space.

Indian space program managers last year moved the Chandrayaan 2 launch from the less capable GSLV Mk.2 rocket to the GSLV Mk.3 to accommodate mass growth on the lunar mission.

Chandrayaan 2 now has a combined launch mass of more than 3.8 metric tons, or about 8,500 pounds. The mission reportedly costs around $125 million.

After Chandrayaan 2’s launch, ISRO plans another PSLV mission to deliver the Cartosat 3 high-resolution mapping satellite into orbit. Cartosat 3 is the first in a new generation of Indian optical reconnaissance satellites.

Later this year, India plans additional PSLV and GSLV launches, as well as the debut flight of new low-cost light-class satellite launcher named the SSLV.

Quelle: SN

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Update: 4.06.2019

Seven challenges for ISRO ahead of Chandrayaan-2 mission in July

If successful, Chandrayaan-2 will make India the fourth country in the world to soft-land on the moon.

CHENNAI: As the country is preparing to launch its most complex space mission - Chandrayaan-2 - early next month, space scientists will be faced with several challenges on the road to scripting history.

If successful, Chandrayaan-2 will make India the fourth country in the world to soft-land on the moon.
ISRO on Monday said that there are seven things that would determine the mission’s success or failure. Here is the explainer:

Soft landing on the Moon

This is the most challenging part of the mission and is divided into ‘rough braking’ and ‘fine braking’. Variations in local gravity have to be factored into the lunar descent trajectory. On-board Navigation and Control and propulsion system has to work in unison, autonomously and automatically.

Trajectory accuracy

The distance to the moon is approximately 3.844 lakh km. Ensuring trajectory accuracy while navigating such a large distance poses many challenges as it is influenced by non-uniform gravity of the Earth and Moon, etc..

Deep-space communication

Owing to the large distance from Earth and limited on-board power, radio signals used for communication are weak with heavy background noise, which need to be picked up by large antennas.

TLI and Lunar Capture

Chandrayaan-2 will perform Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) burns for raising its apogee successively to reach vicinity of Moon’s orbit. As the Moon’s location continuously change due to orbital motion, the intersection of Chandrayaan-2 and the Moon’s path must be predicted accurately.

Orbiting around the Moon

Lunar gravity is ‘lumpy’ due to uneven mass distribution under its surface. This influences the spacecraft obit. Also, precise details of thermal environment at orbital altitude is needed for keeping electronics safe.

Lunar dust

Lunar surface is covered with craters, rocks, and dust. Firing of on-board engines close to the lunar surface results in backward flow of hot gases along with dust.

The negative charge of lunar dust makes it stick to most surfaces disrupting deployment mechanisms, solar panel performance and NGC sensor performance.

Extreme temperature, vacuum

A lunar day or night lasts 14 Earth days. This results in extreme surface temperature variations. Moreover, the ambient pressure of the surface is a hard vacuum. This makes the lunar surface an extremely hostile environment for lander and rover operations.

Quelle: The New Indian Express

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Update: 11.06.2019

ISRO gears up for Chandrayaan-2 mission

Chandrayaan-2 lander is named Vikram (meaning valour, after the father of the Indian space programme, Vikram Sarabhai). It will release a small robotic rover, named Pragyan (wisdom), to move around, feel and understand the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-2, the country’s first moon lander and rover mission, is a month away.

The Indian Space Research Organisation has marked mid-July for the take-off and kept the launch window open from July 9 to 16.

After putting the spacecraft through manoeuvres at the earth end, a journey of over a month and a few more orbital manoeuvres as it approaches the moon, ISRO has set September 6 as the date to soft-land its landing craft at the lunar south pole - a region where no agency has got to so far.

ISRO recently listed at least six complexities of soft landing a mission on the Moon – something that pioneers Russia and the U.S. could not achieve easily back in the mid-1960s.

Soft landing, it says, is the most challenging part of the mission.

The lander is named Vikram (meaning valour, after the father of the Indian space programme, Vikram Sarabhai). It will release a small robotic rover, named Pragyan (wisdom), to move around, feel and understand the lunar surface.

Vikram must gently descend on a harsh rugged lunar surface, without getting damaged. It must also avoid landing in a shadowy patch. It needs sunlight for generating its power.

Meanwhile, the mother ship or the orbiter that carries Vikram and Pragyan will go around the moon at a distance of about 100 km, taking pictures and gathering surface information and sending them back to earth.

The moon’s constantly sunny side gets light for 14 Earth days or one lunar day. The lander and the rover are expected to work for just that duration.

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The mission carries 14 payloads or instruments to observe and gauge the lunar scene – both from a distance and on its surface. One of them is a tiny NASA reflectometer to mark the spot for future missions and assess the distance from the earth.

Heavyweight launch

Weighing about 3,500 kg, Chandrayaan-2 will be launched on the heavy-lift GSLV-Mk III rocket. The mission has missed many dates and its lander elements have been revamped as recently as in 2018. The tests related to the lander were conducted at the Challakere multi-agency campus where ISRO, DRDO, BARC and the IISc facilities are located.

Quelle: The Hindu

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Quelle: ISRO

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Update: 13.06.2019

Chandrayaan 2: ISRO releases first pictures of orbiter and lander

ISRO is expected to launch Chandrayaan-2 during the time window between July 9-July 16 according to scientists and if everything went according to plans, India's second moon mission will land on September 6 to its destination.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Wednesday released pictures of the modules of India's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 that is scheduled to be launched between July 9 and 16.

India's space research organisation released pictures of Chandrayaan-2 showing the lander along with its orbiter at its Satellite Integration and Testing establishment in Bengaluru.

The former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair while speaking on the mission had, "Chandrayaan-2 is going to be an exciting mission as far as the Indian space programme is concerned. In 2009, we had sent our first satellite to the moon successfully. It has collected a lot of information about the surface of the moon, its mineral contents and so on. Also, we had the opportunity to place the Indian national flag on the surface of the moon."

1. ISRO unveals first pictures of lander and orbiter of its Chandrayaan-2 mission

he Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Wednesday released the first look of its Chandrayaan-2 mission, expected to be launched in July.

The space research organisation released pictures lander and orbiter. India's second lunar mission will be launched using indigenously made GSLV MK III which will carry the lander, orbiter and Rover.

2. Chandrayaan 2 is expected to land on Moon on September 6, 2019

One of the components, Rover has been named as Pragyan while lander has been named as Vikram. Once the mission lands on Moon, which is expected on September 6, Vikram which the lander will deploy the Rover to commence its moon mission.

The rover will have a mass of 29 kg and 1m long. Lander is of 3.4 tonne and 3.5 metre long. The total weight of combine composite body kept in GSLV MK3 is 3.8 tonne. Once launched, in 15 mins the GSLV MK3 will inject the composite body into the mission.

3. Chandrayaan-2 is ISRO's second moon mission after 10 years

ISRO has planned its second Moon mission after a gap of more than 10 years and is expecting that like its previous mission, the forthcoming mission will also collect vital information and reveal more about our only natural satellite.

Along with its own Chandrayaan-2, India's second lunar mission will also carry as many as 13 payloads including one passive experiment from NASA.

Out of the 13 payloads, 8 will be carried on Orbiter, three on lander and Rover will carry two other payloads. Plus, NASA experiment would be carried on Chandrayaan-2.

Quelle: DNA

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Update: 20.06.2019

Chandrayaan-2 heads to launch site

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Quelle: Bangalore Mirror

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Update: 27.06.2019

Chandrayaan-2: Lander, rover, orbiter integration by June 28

Quelle: The Times of India

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Update: 29.06.2019

As the race for Moon heats up, Chandrayaan-2 could give ISRO an edge, and spoils

Private efforts to get to the surface of the moon have gained tremendous attention and investment over the last decade.

ISRO personnel work on the orbiter vehicle of Chandrayaan-2, India's first moon lander and rover mission planned and developed by ISRO at ISRO Satellite Integration and test establishment (ISITE), in Bengaluru. | PTI Photo

Bengaluru: The race to space is heating up around the world, but differently from how it played out five decades ago. Instead of trying to achieve goals for national pride and prestige, the current competition, driven by commercial companies, seeks to monetise space-based services, access to space and space-based resources.

In this space, private efforts to get to the surface of the Moon and providing access to the Earth’s satellite have gained tremendous attention and investment over the last decade.

The origins of this race can be traced to the Google Lunar XPrize, which was launched in 2007 and offered a $20 million prize to any team from around the world that landed a rover on the Moon without significant government support.

Even though none of the teams competing in the competition, including India’s Team Indus, was able to achieve the target, all continued to pursue the goal.

Earlier this year, one of the competitors, a team from Israel called SpaceIL, attempted to land their rover on the lunar surface, but the effort failed to complete its target on account of a component failure. Even so, it became the first private entity to enter the lunar orbit, and was recognised by XPRIZE for the feat.

Other teams from Japan and Germany have secured funding and are moving forward with their attempts.

Meanwhile, NASA is supporting several US-based teams by teaming up with them for the delivery of space and technology payloads to the moon under a programme called Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS).

Price-to-payload

A good place to start comparing India’s ability to enter the commercial lunar race is by analysing the price-to-payload performance that each of the private lunar rovers is planning to deliver.

US-based companies such as Astrobotic, OrbitBeyond (which is planning to use the design of the Team Indus lander) and Intuitive Machines intend to carry 90 kg, 40 kg and 100 kg, respectively, to the surface of the Moon.

Last month, NASA awarded OrbitBeyond $97 million (Rs 679 crore) for carrying four payloads on a lander that intends to touchdown on Mare Imbrium (a mare is a plain formed by volcanic eruptions), while Astrobotic got $79.5 million (Rs 556 crore) for 14 payloads to the crater Lacus Mortis, and Intuitive Machines $77 million (Rs 539 crore) for four payloads to Oceanus Procellarum or Mare Serenitatis.

Other lunar rovers such as iSpace from Japan and PT Scientists from Germany plan to carry payloads of up to 30 kg and 5 kg, respectively.

Astrobotic, whose lander is similar in size to ISRO’s Vikram lander, has published a clear pricing structure, projecting a cost of $300,000/kg (Rs 2.1 crore) for payloads on their orbiter, $1.2 million/kg (Rs 8.4 crore) for payloads on their lander, and $4.5 million/kg (Rs 31.5 crore) for payloads on their rover.

A comparison of the capacity that these companies are trying to establish with ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 points to some early evidence that India’s space agency may be able to offer a better price-performance.

Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled to take off on 15 July and land near the Moon’s South Pole, an uncharted territory, in what has been described as ISRO’s most complex mission ever.

India’s lunar orbiter (carrying eight payloads), lunar lander Vikram (carrying four payloads) and the rover Pragyaan (carrying two payloads) weigh 2,379 kg, 1,371 kg and 27 kg, respectively. The mission cost for Chadrayaan-2 is estimated to be $86 million (Rs 603 crore), apart from the launch cost of $54 million (Rs 375 crore).

If successful, India’s Chandrayaan-2 will establish India’s capability to safely land on the moon and operate a rover on the lunar surface for the first time.

The investment thesis behind commercial lunar exploration companies suggests that there is global interest in sending various kind of payloads to the moon, and that these operators are fighting to secure a pie of this market for themselves.

If the thesis is sound, then there will be a flow of payloads to the lunar orbit and surface, and this puts India in a potential position to exploit the price-performance ISRO can deliver in this market and offer to fly some payloads to the moon’s orbit and its surface in future missions.

The PSLV example

To provide a sense of how this can work, one could look at the way India entered the global commercial launch industry. ISRO exploited the additional capacity on its trusted workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), by offering the additional mass available to global satellite companies. This proved to be a great business, thanks to a combination of the PSLV’s high reliability and competitive launch costs. In 2015-16, for example, ISRO earned Rs 420.9 crore from launching satellites for other countries.

The success of Chandrayaan-2 will prove India’s ability to carry payloads to the surface of the moon. If India plans to continue the exploration of the moon after Chandrayaan-2, some additional capacity on the lunar orbiter and rover can be allocated to commercial payloads. This can help subsidise some of the costs incurred for future missions and potentially provision greater number or frequency of lunar missions undertaken by India.

As PSLV gained popularity in the commercial industry, launch lobbyists made a case for a ban against the use of the Indian launch vehicle because ISRO is a government agency and there were fears that its participation could “distort the conditions of competition” in the launch-services market.

There is no doubt that such challenges may occur if India chooses to compete in the lunar-launch market through ISRO-built capabilities. However, if there are positive externalities for the country and the business case has a sound economic return, the policymakers in the country should take a stand that markets need to decide the uptake to such an offering (as they did with the PSLV).

If a lunar economy truly exists, India’s entry into this niche will indeed be a very interesting one to watch out for.

Quelle: Zhe Print

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Update: 4.07.2019

Ambitious Chandrayaan-2 project nears launch date

Nellore: The team of engineers and scientists at Satish Dhawan Space Centre have been working almost round the clock for the prestigious launch of the long awaited Chandrayaan-2 Mission scheduled for the small hours of July 15 from SHAR in SPSR Nellore district.

It may be recalled that the first mission to the moon, Chandrayaan 1, was launched successfully on October 22, 2008, from Shar. The mission confirmed the presence of water molecules on the moon’s surface.

Chandrayaan-2 is the second Indian lunar mission that will boldly where no country has ever gone before — the moon's south polar region. Through this effort, the aim is to improve our understanding of the moon — discoveries that will benefit India and humanity as a whole, say ISRO scientists.

According to Isro scientists, one of the reasons for the mission is that the moon is the closest cosmic body at which space discovery can be attempted and documented. It is also a promising test bed to demonstrate 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.

The moon provides the best linkage to the 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 Moon still needs further explanations.

Extensive mapping of lunar surface to study variations in lunar surface composition is essential to trace back the origin and evolution of the Moon.

The lunar South Pole is especially interesting because the lunar surface area, which 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.

Accordingly, 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.

Spacecraft to land on Moon on Sept. 6

Chandrayaan-2 will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota on-board GSLV Mk-III on July 15, 2019. It will be injected into an earth parking 170 x40400 km orbit.

A series of maneuvers will be carried out to raise its orbit and put Chandrayaan-2 on the lunar transfer trajectory.

On entering the moon’s sphere of influence, on-board thrusters will slow down the spacecraft for lunar capture. The orbit of Chandrayaan-2 around the moon will be circularized to 100x100 km orbit through a series of orbital maneuvers.

On the day of landing, the lander will separate from the orbiter and then perform a series of complex maneuvers comprising of rough braking and fine braking.

Imaging of the landing site region prior to landing will be done for finding safe and hazard-free zones. The lander-Vikram will finally land near the South Pole of the moon on September 6, 2019.

Subsequently, Rover will roll out and carry out experiments on the lunar surface for a period of 1 lunar day which is equal to 14 earth days.

Orbiter will continue its mission for a duration of one year. Chandrayaan 2 will be aided in achieving its mission by some of India's most advanced engineering marvels.

Its integrated module, which comprises technology and software developed across the country, includes ISRO's most powerful launch vehicle to date and a wholly indigenous rover.

Some of the advancements on the spacecraft include a lander capable of soft landing on the lunar surface, an algorithm wholly developed by India's scientific community and a rover capable of conducting in-situ payload experiments.

Quelle: DeccanChronicle

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Update: 7.07.2019

Chandrayaan-2 launch vehicle to be moved to launchpad by Sunday

With just over a week left for the launch, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to move the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-III bearing the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to the launchpad at Sriharikota this weekend, ISRO chairman K. Sivan has said.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the seventh convocation of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) here on Friday, he said the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft had been integrated with the launch vehicle.

“The vehicle will be moved to the launchpad either tomorrow (Saturday) or day after (Sunday),” he said.

The ISRO is planning a July 15 lift-off for the mission. The final mission readiness review would be conducted two days before the launch, Dr. Sivan said. “Everything is going according to the plan,” he added.

With Chandrayaan-2, the ISRO is going to a place where no one has ventured before — the south pole of the moon. “The global scientific community will benefit only if we take that risk. Risks and benefits are linked,” Dr. Sivan said, addressing the convocation.

Chandrayaan-2 is India's second mission to the moon and has three modules -- Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan) - to study the moon from above and its surface. The rover is named Pragyan which means 'Wisdom' in Sanskrit. Orbiter would have eight payloads, Lander three and Rover two.

Chandrayaan-2 will carry 13 Indian payloads and one passive experiment from NASA. The cost of the mission is estimated to be over Rs 1000 crore. The mission cost of Chandrayaan-2 with regard to the satellite was Rs 603 crore. The cost of GSLV MK III is Rs 375 crore.

Quelle: The Hindu

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Update: 10.07.2019

Chandrayaan 2: India's second date with the Moon

Second date with the Moon

For India's second date with the Moon, expected in the first week of September, ISRO scientists have swiped left and right through 3,500 images in search of the right place for the rendezvous near the lunar south pole.
Here, they hope to find clues to the origin and early history of not just the Moon, but Earth and some other members of the solar system as well. Also expected is more evidence of water.
In pic - Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists work on the orbiter vehicle of 'Chandrayaan-2', India's first moon lander and rover mission planned and developed by the ISRO.

Chandrayaan-1 mapped the entire moon

Scientists studied data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Japan's Kaguya Lunar Orbiter to stitch together mosaics and study craters, boulders and slopes.

Images of the lunar surface captured by instruments aboard Chandrayaan-1 including terrain mapping camera, hyperspectral imager, lunar laser ranging instrument, moon mineralogy mapper and synthetic aperture radar also came in handy.

"Chandrayaan-1 mapped the entire moon when the orbiter went around for nine months," said Mylsamy Annadurai, who was the project director of Chandrayaan-1.

The orbiter high resolution camera (OHRC) onboard Chandrayaan-2 orbiter will again study the landing site to detect hazards like boulders up to 32cm.

BCCL

ISRO Chairman K Sivan

In a paper presented at the 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2018, ISRO scientists said two potential sites were identified - a primary site between the two craters Manzinus and Simpelius, located 350 km north of the south pole Aitken basin rim and a second site nearby.

China was the first country to land on the far side of the moon, on a crater about 180 km from south pole Aitken basin.

"As solar energy powers the system, a place with good visibility and area of communication was needed. Also, the place should not have many boulders or craters. The slope for landing should be less than 12 degrees. The south pole has a near-flat surface, with good visibility and sunlight," said ISRO Chairman K Sivan.

higher-probability-of-finding-water

Higher probability of finding water

The lunar south pole is especially interesting because a larger section of its surface stays in the shadow, which means a higher probability of finding water.

The region also has craters that are 'cold traps' containing fossilised records of the early solar system, ISRO said in a web post.

accuracy-is-the-key

Accuracy is the key

A study by Physical Research Laboratory on the topography of the landing ellipse revealed that 23,605 craters are present including 12,600 craters with a diameter greater than 10m and 11 craters with greater than 500m diameter.

The landing ellipse is generally flat with the primary landing site devoid of craters with significant depth.

Anticipated disturbances

Lunar dust can stick to the instruments, affecting deployment of solar panel, sensors and navigational aids.

The less the hovering time, the less the disturbance, said PRL scientists.

Quelle: The Economic Times

Raumfahrt - Startvorbereitung für ISRO´s Chandrayaan II-Mond-Mission 2019 -Update-2

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