Lander Vikram will perform his first maneuver in orbit around the moon at 9:45 pm today – Technology News, Firstpost

Tech2 News Staff03-Sep-2019 07:58:39 IST

After taking a major step on September 2nd, Chandrayaan 2, the landing module for the Indian Space Research Organization's second mission to the Moon, is scheduled to make its first fit in orbit between 8.45 and 9.45. The Vikram Lander and the Pragyan rover, the two components of the Landing Module, are about to make their smooth landing eagerly anticipated on September 7th.

From its current elliptical orbit at 119 x 127 km (the closest X farthest distance from the ground), the landing module will be lowered into an elliptical orbit of 109 x 120 km around the moon. On September 2, at 1:15 pm, the Vikram Lander was placed in an independent circular trajectory around the moon, identical to that of the orbiter, passing over the lunar poles at a distance of 39, about 100 km from the surface.

On 1 September, the Chandrayaan 2 composite (the combined orbiter, LG and mobile units) completed its last and fifth orbital maneuver, bringing it into a near-circular orbit of 119 seconds. x 127 km around the moon. Now, the lander is in orbit around the elliptical orbit of 119 km by 127 km. After the separation of the orbiter, this morning's maneuver will bring one of two adjustments into orbit at the altitude of the undercarriage before the Soft landing expected of the LG and rover on the moon's surface. This attempt is scheduled for 7:05 am EST on September 7th.

During the motorized descent of the landing module to the moon's surface, ISRO will supervise two maneuvers of deorbitation (lowering of orbit) on September 3 and 4 respectively. This will be followed by a live stream from the ISRO control room to the Satellite Control Center (SCC) in Bengaluru, leading to the unloading itself, as the President of ISRO described as "15 minutes of terror"for the complexity and challenge of landing softly (something that the ISRO is trying for the first time).

Over the next few days, the Vikram lander will create (on September 3rd and 4th) the first maps of the landing site to ensure that the landing site is safe, as previously thought, to perform a soft landing. This is a crucial step in the mission, as ISRO mission engineers will not be able to use the satellite remotely from the control center.

The orbiter will also monitor for the first time its home for a year, ensuring that no damage has been done to its instruments during the trip and conducting a thorough review of the site. Landing of the Vikram lander in the southern polar region of the moon.

Although subsequent events of the mission are not broadcast live, you can get live updates on the mission on our dedicated site. Domain Chandrayaan 2, our Twitter page, ISRO website, or Twitter page.

Find our full collection of stories, in-depth reviews, live updates, videos and more on Chandrayaan 2 Moon Mission on our dedicated area # Chandrayaan2TheMoon.