Indian lunar probe enters lunar orbit

The Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan 2 entered lunar orbit Tuesday, performing one of the most delicate maneuvers of its historic mission on the moon.

After four weeks in space, the spacecraft has completed its lunar orbit insertion as planned, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said in a statement.

The insertion "was successfully completed today at 00:03:03 (03 H 32 GMT), as planned, using the onboard propulsion system.The duration of the maneuver was 1738 seconds", announced the national space agency.

India is looking to become the fourth country after Russia, the United States and China to pose a spacecraft on the moon.

If the rest of the mission goes as planned, the Indian probe will land on the South Lunar Pole on September 7th.

Chandrayaan 2 will undergo four other similar maneuvers to enter the final orbit over the lunar poles, the next being scheduled for Wednesday.

ISRO chief, K. Sivan, said the maneuver was a key step for the mission, adding that he was hoping for a perfect landing next month.

"On September 7, the lander will land on the moon, anything humanly possible has been done by us," Sivan told reporters.

Tuesday's insertion was one of the mission's most delicate operations, because if the satellite had approached the moon at a higher speed, it would have rebounded and lost in space.

And if she had approached at a slow speed, the gravity of the Moon would have lured her inside, causing a crash.

Moments of heart

"The speed of approach had to be fair and the altitude above the moon precise.Even a small mistake would have killed the mission," Sivan said.

"Our heartbeats have gone up … for 30 minutes, our hearts have almost stopped."

Chandrayaan 2, or Moon Chariot 2, departed the Sriharikota Indian Spaceport, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, on July 22.

The spacecraft used in the mission includes an orbiter, a lander and a rover almost entirely designed and manufactured in India. The orbiter has a mission of a duration of one year and will take images of the lunar surface.

According to ISRO, this mission will help scientists better understand the origin and evolution of the Moon by conducting detailed topographic studies, mineral analyzes and many other experiments.

About $ 140 million was spent on survey mission preparations – a much lower price compared to similar operations conducted by other countries.

It was launched on India's most powerful rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) MkIII.

The takeoff was successful on his second attempt, a week after his abortion a little less than an hour after its launch due to a technical problem.

The first Indian lunar mission in 2008 – Chandrayaan-1 – did not land on the moon, but did a search for water with the help of a radar.

A soft landing on the Moon would be a huge step forward in the Indian space program, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to launch an inhabited mission into space by 2022.

India also has the ambition to pose a probe on Mars. In 2014, India became the fourth country to put a satellite into orbit around the red planet.

---

---

© 2019 AFP