Chandrayaan-2, is India's second lunar exploration mission. Developed by the Indian Space Research
Organisation, the mission is planned to be launched to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle, includes a lunar orbiter, a lander and a lunar rover, all developed
by India. India is gearing up to launch Chandrayaan-2 by end of 2016 or beginning of 2017.
According to ISRO, this mission will use and test various new technologies and conduct
new experiments. The wheeled rover will move on the lunar surface and will pick up soil
or rock samples for on-site chemical analysis. The data will be relayed to Earth through
the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter.
History On November 12, 2007, representatives of the
Russian Federal Space Agency and ISRO signed an agreement for the two agencies to work
together on the Chandrayaan-2 project. ISRO would have the prime responsibility for the
orbiter and rover, while Roskosmos was to provide the lander.
The Indian Government approved the mission in a meeting of the Union Cabinet held on
18 September 2008 chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The design of the space craft
was completed in August 2009, with scientists of both countries conducting a joint review.
Although ISRO finalized the payload for Chandrayaan-2 per schedule, the mission was postponed, and
rescheduled to 2016 because Russia was unable to develop the lander on time. Later Roscosmos
withdrew in wake of the failure of the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission to Mars, reason being
technical aspects connected with the Phobos-Grunt mission were also used in the lunar projects,
which need to be reviewed. When Russia cited its inability to provide the lander even by
2015, India decided to develop the lunar mission independently.
Design The mission is planned to fly on a Geosynchronous
Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-II with an approximate lift-off mass of 2,650 kg from Satish Dhawan
Space Center on Sriharikota Island. Orbiter
ISRO will design the orbiter, which will orbit the Moon at an altitude of 200 km. The mission
would carry five instruments on the orbiter. Three of them are new, while two others are
improved versions of those flown on Chandrayaan-1 orbiter. The approximate launch mass will
be 1,400 kg. Lander
Unlike Chandrayaan-1's lunar probe, which impacted the Moon's surface, the lander will
make a soft landing. The approximate mass of the lander and rover is 1,250 kg. Initially,
the lander was slated to be developed by Russia in collaboration with India. When Russia stated
its inability provide the lander to meet even the revised time frame of 2015, Indian officials
decided to develop the lander independently. The cancellation of the Russian lander also
meant that mission profile had to be changed. The design of the indigenous lander and the
preliminary configuration study has been completed by the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad.
Rover The rover's mass will be about 30–100 kg
and will operate on solar power. The rover will move on wheels on the lunar surface,
pick up samples of soil or rocks, perform on-site chemical analysis and send the data
to the orbiter above, which will relay it to the Earth station.
The initial plan was for the rover to be designed in Russia and fabricated in India. However,
Russia gave up in May 2010 on its plan on designing the rover. Subsequently, ISRO decided
on designing and fabricating the rover. IIT Kanpur is developing three subsystems to provide
mobility: Stereoscopic camera based 3D vision - will
provide the ground team controlling the rovers a 3D view of the surrounding terrain.
Kinematic traction control - will enable the rover to negotiate the rough lunar terrain
using independent steering provided on four of its wheels.
Control and motor dynamics - The rover will have six wheels, each driven by an independent
electric motor. Four of the wheels will also be capable of independent steering. A total
of 10 electric motors will be used for traction and steering.
Spacecraft redesign Once it became clear that Chandrayaan-2 would
have to be launched by GSLV and not GSLV-III, the structure configuration of the spacecraft
was changed from I2K to I3K to accommodate a revision in payload lift off capacity. The
change will facilitate the use of larger propellant tanks.
The mission strategy was revised to inject the satellite in a lower initial orbit with
a higher lift-off mass of 3200 kg and the propulsion system configuration changed to
increase fuel carrying capability of the satellite. Payload
ISRO has announced that an expert committee has decided on five payloads for the orbiter,
and two for the rover. While it was initially reported that NASA and ESA would participate
in the mission by providing some scientific instruments for the orbiter, ISRO has later
clarified that due to weight restrictions it will not be carrying foreign payloads on
this mission. Orbiter payload
Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer from ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore and Solar X-ray
monitor from Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad for mapping major elements present
on the lunar surface. L and S band Synthetic Aperture Radar from
Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad for probing the first few tens of metres of the lunar
surface for the presence of different constituents, including water ice. SAR is expected to provide
further evidence confirming the presence of water ice below the shadowed regions of the
Moon. Imaging IR Spectrometer from SAC, Ahmedabad
for mapping of lunar surface over a wide wavelength range for the study of minerals, water molecules
and hydroxyl present. Neutral Mass Spectrometer from Space Physics
Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram to carry out a detailed study of the lunar exosphere.
Terrain Mapping Camera-2 from SAC, Ahmedabad for preparing a three-dimensional map essential
for studying the lunar mineralogy and geology. Rover payload
Laser induced Breakdown Spectroscope from Laboratory for Electro Optic Systems, Bangalore.
Alpha Particle Induced X-ray Spectroscope from PRL, Ahmedabad.
There are plans to include a seismometer to study Moon-quakes.
See also
Exploration of the Moon Chandrayaan-1
Chang'e 2 List of current and future lunar missions
References
External links Chandrayaan 2 updates