New Delhi, September 5: Less than two days remain for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to complete what could be one of its most successful mission to the space. Chandrayaan 2, which had left the Earth on July 22, is scheduled to land on the moon's surface on September 7. The much-awaited soft-landing is scheduled between 01:30 to 02:30 hours (IST) on September 7. The scientific community across the world has have their eyes glued as the mission may uncover mysteries surrounding the moon's south pole.

All You Need to Know About Chandrayaan 2 Moon Landing

Described as "15 minutes of terror" by ISRO chief K Sivan, the event will significantly change the outlook of future missions to the moon. This will be the first time a rover of a spacecraft will land close to the moon's south pole. The mission's predecessor, Chandrayaan 1, had collected data which pointed to the presence of buried ice near the south pole surface. If Chandrayaan 2 is able to detect the same, it would end up establishing the presence of fresh water sources on the celestial body.

Chandrayaan-2's lander 'Vikram', with rover 'Pragyan' housed in it, is scheduled for a powered-descent between 1 am and 2 am on September 7, followed by its touchdown between 1.30 am and 2.30 am. Following the landing, the rover 'Pragyan' will roll out from 'Vikram' between 5.30 am and 6.30 am.

Geographically, the Chandrayaan 2 will make a landing at 70.9 degrees south latitude and 22.7 degrees east longitude. The spot of landing is located approximately 375 miles (600 kilometers) from the south pole.

If, due to unforeseen circumstances, the rover could not land at the targeted spot, ISRO has planned a backup landing at a site located at 67.7 degrees south latitude and 18.4 degrees west longitude.

The closest to this point was reached by China, whose recent Chang'e-4 Mission landed at a latitude of about 45 degrees in January this year. Meanwhile, all of NASA's Apollo missions have landed close to the equator.

Although the NASA expeditions have immensely discovered about the moon, scientists have expressed cynicism as the characteristics which appear at equatorial surface may not be the same in other regions of the moon.

According to ISRO, the lunar South Pole is especially interesting because of the lunar surface area here that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the North Pole. There is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it, it said, adding that in addition, South Pole region has craters that are cold traps and contain a fossil record of the early Solar System.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 05, 2019 07:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).