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TIRUPAATI: ISRO is ready for the country's prestigious lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, and all preparations are underway for its launch on July 15, said Saturday the president of the K Sivan space agency.
This is the first mission of the Indian Space Research Organization to land on any celestial body and is a follow-up of Chandrayaan-1 launched in 2008.
The goal of the mission is to conduct a detailed study on understanding the origin and evolution of the moon, according to ISRO.
"All preparations for Chandrayaan-2 are underway for the planned launch of Sriharikota on July 15 at 2:51 am," Sivan told reporters after a prayer at the Shrine of Lord Venkateswara Hill in Tirumala, near 39; here.
ISRO had already announced that the three modules of the lunar mission – Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan) – were preparing for the launch and that the lander was to land on the lunar surface in early September.
During a brief conversation, Sivan, also secretary at the Space Department, said that the LG would perform a soft landing in the South Lunar Pole, a territory unexplored here, September 6th.
He ruled out the rains posing a threat to the launch.
"This will have no effect since the pitcher (GSLVMkIII) is protected from the rain," he told the press in the midst of a torrential rain.
The Chandrayaan-2 would be transported by the GSLVMkIII, nicknamed "Fat Boy" by Indian scientists for its ability to carry satellites weighing up to 4 tons.
When asked about the total cost of Chandrayaan-2's mission, Sivan replied that it was 1,000 Crore.
On the "Gaganyaan" project, India's first manned space flight program in India, he said he was making progress and that the first unmanned mission would be launched in December 2020.
"The design phase is complete and the production phase is underway."
Two unmanned missions would be undertaken, the first in December 2020 and the second in July 2021.
"In December 2021, we plan to send humans into space," he said.
Regarding the selection of candidates for the mission, he said that the procedure was continuing.
Chandrayaan-2 is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission, which contained 11 payloads: five from India, three from Europe, two from the United States and one from Bulgaria.
The first mission had the merit of discovering water on the lunar surface.
This is the first mission of the Indian Space Research Organization to land on any celestial body and is a follow-up of Chandrayaan-1 launched in 2008.
The goal of the mission is to conduct a detailed study on understanding the origin and evolution of the moon, according to ISRO.
"All preparations for Chandrayaan-2 are underway for the planned launch of Sriharikota on July 15 at 2:51 am," Sivan told reporters after a prayer at the Shrine of Lord Venkateswara Hill in Tirumala, near 39; here.
ISRO had already announced that the three modules of the lunar mission – Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan) – were preparing for the launch and that the lander was to land on the lunar surface in early September.
During a brief conversation, Sivan, also secretary at the Space Department, said that the LG would perform a soft landing in the South Lunar Pole, a territory unexplored here, September 6th.
He ruled out the rains posing a threat to the launch.
"This will have no effect since the pitcher (GSLVMkIII) is protected from the rain," he told the press in the midst of a torrential rain.
The Chandrayaan-2 would be transported by the GSLVMkIII, nicknamed "Fat Boy" by Indian scientists for its ability to carry satellites weighing up to 4 tons.
When asked about the total cost of Chandrayaan-2's mission, Sivan replied that it was 1,000 Crore.
On the "Gaganyaan" project, India's first manned space flight program in India, he said he was making progress and that the first unmanned mission would be launched in December 2020.
"The design phase is complete and the production phase is underway."
Two unmanned missions would be undertaken, the first in December 2020 and the second in July 2021.
"In December 2021, we plan to send humans into space," he said.
Regarding the selection of candidates for the mission, he said that the procedure was continuing.
Chandrayaan-2 is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission, which contained 11 payloads: five from India, three from Europe, two from the United States and one from Bulgaria.
The first mission had the merit of discovering water on the lunar surface.
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