India launches historic attempt to put spacecraft on Moon surface
INDIA launched a bid to become a leading space power on Monday, sending up a rocket to put a craft on t he surface of t he Moon in what it ca lled a “historic day” for t he nation.
Chandrayaan-2 – or Moon Chariot 2 – took off on time at 2:43pm (0913 GMT) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on an isla nd of f the coast of Andhra Pradesh state.
Applause broke out i n the mission control room as t he rocket blasted of f into t he grey sk ies over the Indian Ocean and mission control announced that the orbiter had broken away from the rocket with no problem.
“Today is a historic day for space, science and tech in India,” Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chief K Sivan said.
The launch came a week after a f uel lea k forced a prev ious attempt to be scrubbed 56 minutes before t he scheduled blast-of f.
The South Asian nation is bidding to follow Russia, the US and China i n landing a spacecraft on the Moon.
President Ram Nath Kovind watched t he launch a longside 7,000 dignitaries and flag-waving children.
The rocket carried an orbiter, a lander and a rover, and has been
a lmost entirely designed and made in India.
The 2.4 tonne orbiter is expected to circle t he Moon for about a year, ta k ing images of t he surface, looking for signs of water and studying the atmosphere.
The lander – named after Vikram A Sarabhai, t he fat her of India’s space programme – will carr y the rover and be placed on the surface near the lunar South Pole. The operation is expected to ta ke place in early September.
Isro scientists will remotely control the rover named Pragyaan – “wisdom” in Sanskrit – as it carries out experiments. It will work for one lunar day, t he equiva lent of 14 Eart h days, studying rocks and soil on the Moon’s surface.
‘Space exploration is risky’
Former Nasa scientist Kumar Krishen said India’s space agency should be praised for ta king on ambitious projects such Chandrayaan-2.
“We should keep in mind that space exploration is risky as many systems have failed in the past and many lives [have been] lost,” he said.
Aside from propelling India into the rarefied company of spacefa ring nations, Chandrayaan-2 a lso stands out because of its low cost.
About $140 million has been spent on preparations for the mission, a much smaller price tag compared with similar missions by other countries.
The US – which is marking the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong becoming the first human on the Moon – spent the equivalent of more than $100 billion on its Apollo missions. Chandrayaan-2
Chandrayaan-2, and India’s space programme as a whole, are a source of nationa l pride.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to send a manned mission into orbit by 2022, and India a lso hopes to seek out lucrative commercial satellite and orbiting deals.
The new mission comes almost 11 years af ter t he launch of India’s first lunar mission – Chandrayaan-1 – which orbited the Moon and searched for water.