KEY TECHNOLOGIES VALIDATED...

Despite the final stage disappointment, Chandrayaan 2, which combined an orbiter, lander and rover, demonstrated a number of key technologies that will help ISRO in future interplanetary missions

LAUNCH

Chandrayaan 2 was launched into orbit on July 22 by ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MarkIII-M1 (GSLV MkIIIM1) rocket, the heaviest spacecraft to be lifted by the launcher. This was the first operational launch of the GSLV Mk-III (dubbed ‘Bahubali’). The GSLV MarkIII platform will also launch India’s human spaceflight mission, currently planned for 2021-end

INSERTION TO LUNAR ORBIT

On August 20, when the Moon was at its farthest from the Earth and its gravitational pull at its weakest, Chandrayaan 2 fired its onboard propulsion rockets to slip out of its Earth orbit and enter into the lunar orbit. The ‘handshake’ manoeuvre used a minimum amount of fuel but had to be extremely precise—too fast an approach would have bounced Chandrayaan 2 into deep space; too slow, and it could have led to a crash into the Moon

SEPARATION OF ORBITER FROM LANDER

The lander, Vikram (carrying the rover, Pragyan) separated from the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter on September 4. Chandrayaan 2 continued with its lunar orbit while Vikram proceeded on its mission to make a soft landing on the surface of the Moon

ORBITER

Weighing 2,379 kg and able to generate 1,000 W of power, the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter is fitted with eight sophisticated instruments to map and monitor the Moon. It has so far been a success and its life expectancy through better fuel management has increased from one year to seven and a half years