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The take-off was scheduled for Monday at 2:51 am local time at the Satish Dhawan Space Center, along the southeast coast of India. The spacecraft was mounted on India's most powerful rocket, a geosynchronous satellite satellite launcher – Mark III. But an unexplained technical problem, according to the Indian space industry, which is the equivalent of NASA in India, has led to a postponement of the launch.
What are the components of the Chandrayaan-2 mission?
The spaceship is composed of several pieces:
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an orbiter;
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a lander named Vikram, named after Vikram A. Sarabhai, father of the Indian space program;
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and a six-wheeled rover named Pragyan, which means "wisdom" in Sanskrit.
In September, the lander (who will be carrying the rover) will detach from the orbiter and head for a landing site near the south pole of the moon.
The rover carries two instruments to measure the composition of the rocks and the ground of the moon. The undercarriage is equipped with instruments to measure earthquakes, temperatures of a few centimeters in the ground and charged particles of the sun in the extremely tenuous lunar atmosphere.
The lander and the rover are expected operate just a few weeks.
The orbiter carries a series of instruments, including cameras and spectrometers, and is designed to operate for at least a year.
Why does India want to install a lander on the moon?
For the Indians, the space program reflects the new technological capabilities of their country. The lander and the Chandrayaan-2 rover will explore a place nearby the lunar south pole, an intriguing region that no one has yet seen close up. Water ice exists at the bottom of shaded craters eternally near the poles.
Chandrayaan-2 will not move into a crater but in a high plain between two craters.
What does Chandrayaan mean?
This is the Hindi for "lunar vehicle".
What has India done in space elsewhere?
As indicated by No. 2 Chandrayaan-2, India has already sent a spacecraft to the moon. Launched in 2008, the Chandrayaan-1 orbiter operated for 10 months and confirmed the presence of water ice in lunar craters.
India has also launched an orbiter to Mars in 2013 that continues to gravitate around the red planet. In 2017, an Indian rocket deployed 104 satellites, a record for a single launch.
Indian space missions have cost a fraction of those of the largest space agencies like NASA and the European Space Agency, but have also typically carried simpler payloads. This is also true for Chandrayaan-2, which costs less than $ 150 million.
In March, India also demonstrated a less user-friendly spatial capacity, an anti-satellite test that dispersed hundreds of debris. China, the United States and Russia have developed similar weapons.
What are the other missions planned by India?
ISRO projects include additional robotic missions to Venus, Mars, the Moon and the Sun.
India is also working to bring its astronauts into Earth orbit on Gaganyaan, or "orbital vehicle". An unmanned test is scheduled for December of next year; the first flight with passengers on board is scheduled for 2022.
What other visitors has the moon recently?
China has landed Chang'e-4, a robotic lander, on the other side of the moon in January. The attempted landing of Israel by Beresheet took place in April.
The Trump administration wants the United States to return astronauts to the moon in 2024 and NASA is also paying private companies for them to carry scientific loads on the lunar surface, potentially as early as next year.
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