New Delhi, August 19: India's second moon mission Chandrayaan 2 is expected to enter Moon's orbit tomorrow. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Sivan said Chandrayaan 2 will enter Moon's orbit around 9:30 am tomorrow. The spacecraft is expected to land on Moon on September 7. The 'Bahubaali' GSLV rocket successfully put Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft into Erath's orbit on July 22.
"Chandrayaan-2 is going to enter a crucial phase of lunar orbit insertion around 9:30 am on Tuesday. On entering Moon’s sphere of influence, the onboard propulsion system of the craft will be fired to slow down the spacecraft to help it captured by Moon’s gravity," Sivan was quoted by TOI as saying. The ISRO chairman said five manoeuvres will be conducted on August 20, 21, 28, 30 and September 1 to lower the altitude of the spacecraft. Chandrayaan 2: Winners of Quiz to Watch Moon Landing Live With PM Narendra Modi, Know How to Participate.
"Moon has 65,000km sphere of influence, meaning its gravity can pull space bodies up to that distance. On August 20, when Chandrayaan-2 will be just around 150km from the lunar orbit, we will do the reorientation. We will provide a critical velocity to Chandrayaan-2: reduce its velocity and change its direction so that it enters Moon’s orbit. If the velocity is more, it will simply fly by and go away from Moon," Sivan explained. Chandrayaan 2 Explained! When Will ISRO's GSLV-Mk III Reach Moon And What Will Happen After That?
Chandrayaan 2: Where Is The Spacecraft Now & When It Will Reach The Moon; Know ISRO Mission's Path:
Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft left Earth's orbit and successfully entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory (LTT) on August 14. ISRO is continuously monitoring the progress of the mission from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Byalalu.
After the soft landing on the moon, which has been described as “15 minutes of terror” by Sivan, the wheeled rover will move on the lunar surface and will perform on-site chemical analysis. The rover will carry out experiments on Lunar surface for a period of 1 Lunar day, which is equal to 14 Earth days.
After the successful completion of the project, India will become the fifth country in the world after the United States, China, Russia, and Israel to successfully perform a "soft landing" of an unmanned mission on the moon.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2019 08:53 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).