India is preparing a moon landing for 1st time in country's history

[ashok321]

All you need to know about ISRO's first mark on the moon:

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/chandrayaan-2/1/1102788.html

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing for Chandrayaan-2 in succession to its successful launch of Chandrayaan-1 in 2008. This time, what is most exciting is that as part of this second mission, ISRO is all set to land its very first lunar rover on the moon by the end of March 2018.

Chandrayaan-1

• Chandrayaan-1 was launched from Sriharikota off the East coast of India at an estimated value of USD 83 million

• ISRO's 5-foot by 5-foot cube made it into lunar orbit and discovered some "magmatic water" on a Moon crater

• But, in November 2008, the spacecraft crashed into the Moon and got lost in the lunar orbit

• The craft had fulfilled almost 80 percent of its tasks before it lost contact with ISRO

• It was found again by NASA last year

Chandrayaan-2

• India's second mission to the moon, the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, weighs approximately 3290 kilograms

• This mission is an entirely original one

• Chandrayaan-2 will be taken to the moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle called GSLV-Mk II

• Russian company Isotope has supplied Cm-244 alpha-emitter to be installed in a scientific instrument in India's Chandrayaan-2 satellite

• If everything goes according the plan, this mission will be completed in 14 Earth days, which is just enough time for the Moon to make one full orbit around our planet

• The whole project would cost $93 million and the orbiter craft would make a detailed 3D map of the moon surface whereas, the lander will get an up-close view of the moon's crust and mantle

Chandrayaan-2 vehicles
What sets Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft apart from Chandrayaan-1 is that the space research organisation is planning to send three unmanned vehicles to the moon.

The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft is a composite module consisting of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover.

What will these vehicles do up there?
Unlike the Chandrayaan-1, where Moon Impact Probe (MIP) crash-landed on the surface of the Moon, the Chandrayaan-2 will soft-land its Lander with Rover on the lunar surface to conduct the next level of scientific studies.

• In this attempt, ISRO plans to get a more delicate and precise up-close look at the lunar surface

• After approaching the 100 km lunar orbit, the Lander covering the Rover will depart from the Orbiter

• After a controlled fall, the Lander will soft land on the lunar surface at a particularised site and dispose of the Rover

• The six-wheeled Rover will function solely on solar power

• The lunar rover of about 20 kilos will drive around the landing site in semi-autonomous mode as decided by the ground commands

• The instruments on the rover will navigate across the site and perform a chemical investigation which includes collecting various rock and soil samples

• After observing the lunar surface, the Orbiter will transmit back data, which will be useful for analysis

ISRO's space race
After establishing a groundbreaking position in the world with its pioneering space program, ISRO has certainly made its mark as one of the front-runners in the space race.

While this is not India's first mission to the Moon, it is certainly the Indian government's most ambitious Moon research project till date.

After announcing its first mission to the Sun scheduled for 2019, and the upcoming Chandrayaan 2018, the space agency is all set to make a historical move.

 

[Great Sachin]

it is a matter of preferences ..some nation have moon on their flags ....and.... some nation have their flags on moon