Teamwork makes the dream work- Chandrayan (Moon vehicle)
Teamwork makes the dream work- Chandrayan (Moon vehicle)
Indians are fascinated by Moon from early days and now 21st century India is ready to land on the moon! Chandrayaan 1 is the first mission towards that dream.
Chandrayaan-1 Moon vehicle was India’s first lunar probe. It was propelled by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008 and worked until August 2009. The mission carried a lunar orbiter and an impactor. India drove the spacecraft using a PSLV-XL rocket, serial number C11, on 22 October 2008 at 00:52 UTC from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota about 80 km (50 mi) north of Chennai. (1)
The mission was a significant boost to India’s space program, as India researched and revealed its own technology in order to search the Moon. The vehicle was embedded into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.
The remote sensing lunar satellite had a quantity of 1,380 kg (3,040 lb) at launch and 675 kg (1,488 lb) in lunar orbit. PSLV-C11 is 44.4 meters high and has four stages using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately. The first stage, carrying 138 tonnes of propellant, is one of the biggest solid propellant boosters in the world.
Six solid propellant strap-on motors (PSOM-XL), each bearing twelve tonnes of solid propellant, are strapped on to the first stage. The second stage carries 41.5 tonnes of liquid propellant. The third stage uses 7.6 tonnes of solid propellant and the fourth has a twin-engine arrangement with 2.5 tonnes of liquid propellant. (2)
The findings of Chandrayan 1 was followed by an announcement of evidence of water molecules clasped in mineral grains on the surface of the Moon-magmatic water or water that arises from deep in the Moon’s interior. (3)
Now, Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to the moon, is all fixed to be launched on July 15, at 02.51 hours from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It will take close to 50 days for the rocket to land on the moon on September 6 or 7. Russia’s Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) is combining with ISRO for development of Chandrayaan-2 Lander/Rover. (4)
Chandrayaan-2 is an advanced version of the earlier Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon. The mission is planned to be launched to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III). Chandrayaan-2 is configured as a two module system containing an Orbiter Craft module (OC) and a Lander Craft module (LC) carrying the Rover developed by ISRO.
Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft weighs about 2,650 kg at lift-off of which the orbiter weight is about 1,400 kg and lander weight is about 1,250 kg. Improvement of the subsystems of the orbiter and the rover is in progress at ISRO centers in Bangalore. (5)
What will each of the three components do?
The orbiter will map the major components present on the lunar surface including water and will transfer a 3-D map for the study of lunar minerals and geology. The lander will examine moon-quakes near landing side, plasma, and lunar thermal properties. The rover will probe the composition of elements in the moon. (6)
The count down begins for the launch of Chandrayan- 2, to know more about the launch wait until July 14 for new exploration…..
Do you know what’s there in our neighborhood planet Mars, to know the answer, refer the links below:
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