Two days after the successful Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) of spacecraft Chandrayaan-2, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Dr K Sivan on Thursday said that India’s first moon mission is being watched with keen interest globally.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Sivan said the Chandrayaan-2 mission is an important mission at a global level.
He said, the landing operations for moon lander Vikram will begin at about 1.40 am on September 7 and the landing will happen at 1.55 am at moon’s South Pole.
He also said the ISRO has plans for Chandrayaan-3 also, the third moon mission.
According to him, the Indian space agency does not differentiate between men and women and only talent gets the recognition and opportunity.
Incidentally, the Chandrayaan-2 mission Project Director is a female M Vanitha.
In a significant step for India’s moon mission, Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was successfully placed in the moon’s orbit at 9.02 am on August 20 in a nerve-wracking manoeuvre.
The 3,850-kg Chandrayaan-2, a three-module spacecraft comprising an orbiter, Lander Vikram and rover, which was launched on July 22, will make a soft-land on the moon on September 7.
The next major event will happen on September 2 when the lander will be separated from the orbiter. On September 3, a small manoeuvre for about 3 seconds will be done to ensure that the systems of the lander are running normally.
Chandrayaan-2, India’s second moon mission spacecraft, lifted off successfully onboard the “Bahubali” rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on July 22.
The rocket carrying Chandrayaan-2 was originally scheduled to lift off on July 15 early morning but was aborted after a “technical snag” was observed in it, nearly an hour before launch.
The Rs 978 crore Chandrayaan-2 mission is a prestigious one as it is aimed to make India the fourth nation in the world to land and ride on the moon after the US, Russia and China.
Chandrayaan-2 is a sequel to Chandrayaan-1, India’s maiden unmanned moon mission which was announced by late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the 56th Independence Day in 2003.