Tirunelveli: The soft landing of Chandrayaan-II, hailed as a milestone in the country’s space journey, is the first attempt to land near the unexplored south pole of the moon, according to ISRO propulsion complex (IPRC) director, T Mookaiah.
Participating at the centenary celebrations of Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme at a private college here on Thursday, the IPRC director said that the biggest challenge for the lander “Vikram” of Chandrayaan-II that is expected to begin its powered descent on the moon’s surface at around 1.30 am on Saturday (September 7), would be to ensure that its orbit inclination should be 90 degree.
A slight variation in inclination at the targeted site may lead to missing landing. Further, the south pole of moon is an unexplored site. The IPRC director agreed that the lander may have to face some unforeseen challenges while landing soft on moon’s surface.
Four hours after the soft landing, the rover Pragyan, will roll down from Vikram and explore the surrounding lunar terrain for an radius of 500 metres for 14 earth days, said the IPRC director, who added that these actions will be constantly monitored by our scientists from the mission operation complex at ISRO telemetry, tracking and command network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with young students-two selected from each state will witness the historic moon landing live from ISTRAC Bengaluru. “The successful lunar mission of Chandrayaan-II will also enthuse young students to pursue basic science and further develop the Indian aerospace industry,” he hoped.
