New Delhi, Feb 4: The next task on cards for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is launching the Chandrayaan Mission-2, the much awaited second flight to be sent to the moon by India. This time around, however, ISRO aims to pull off an unprecedented success, by soft landing the satellite near the moon's south pole, a target which sceptics claim to be difficult.

Former ISRO chief AS Kiran Kumar, who retired as the indigenous space research group's chairman last month, said Chandrayaan-2 could be launched by either the first quarter or the second half of 2018.

The hardware to launch the satellite is being prepared since last year, Kumar said, adding that the Chandrayaan-2 will be flown by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II.

"We have identified two locations and will be choosing one. No other moon mission has landed in this area," he was reported as saying by TOI.

Landing simulations of the Chandrayaan-2 are currently underway at Mahendra Giri in Tamil Nadu, where the ISRO has set up the  Liquid Propulsion System Centre. The simulations involve soft landing of the satellite from a height of 70-80 metres.

If Chandrayaan-2 mission ends up being a success, ISRO would bag the honour of landing the first-ever satellite near the moon's south pole.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 04, 2018 11:57 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).