Chandrayaan 2 is expected to land on the surface of the moon on September 7.
Chandrayaan 2, which is on its way to the moon, has sent its first picture of the earth's natural satellite and we have only one word for it - breathtaking.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday shared the first image captured by Chandrayaan 2. The image captured by the LI4 Camera shows Mare Orientale basin and Apollo craters of the moon.
Chandrayaan 2 is expected to land on the surface of the moon on September 7. It entered the Moon's orbit on Tuesday and the first Lunar bound orbit manoeuvre for the spacecraft was performed successfully on Wednesday.
India created history on July 22 when ISRO launched the country’s second lunar mission. Chandrayaan 2 seeks to explore the far side of the Moon, a feat no other country has achieved yet. If this landing is successful, the 10-billion-rupee mission will allow scientists to carry out studies regarding the presence of water at the Moon’s south pole.
1. First image sent by Chandrayaan 2
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"Take a look at the first Moon image captured by Chandrayaan2 Vikram Lander taken at a height of about 2650 km from Lunar surface on August 21, 2019. Mare Orientale basin and Apollo craters are identified in the picture," ISRO said in a tweet.
2. Moon as viewed by Chandrayaan-2 LI4 Camera
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"Moon as viewed by Chandrayaan-2 LI4 Camera on 21 August 2019 19:03 UT"
3. Next major event on September 2
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Chandrayaan-2 entered the Moon's orbit on Tuesday and the first Lunar bound orbit manoeuvre for the spacecraft was performed successfully on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference after the spacecraft entered the lunar orbit, ISRO chairman K Sivan said that the next major event is on September 2, when the Vikram lander will be separated from the orbiter.
"The next major event will happen on September 2 when the lander will be separated from the orbiter. On September 3, we will have a small manoeuvre for about three seconds to ensure that the systems of the lander are running normally," said the ISRO chairman.
The ISRO chief reiterated that the previous dates important in the journey of Chandrayaan-2 were July 22, August 14 and August 19.
4. World's first expedition to reach Moon's south polar region
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Chandrayaan-2 will be India's first rover and world's first expedition to reach Moon's south polar region. It is expected to make more discoveries similar to Chandrayaan-1, where it had discovered water on the moon, which was later confirmed by NASA in June 2019.
5. Three modules of Chandrayaan-2
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Chandrayaan-2 is India's second mission to the moon and has three modules -- Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan) - to study the moon from above and its surface. The rover is named Pragyan which means 'Wisdom' in Sanskrit. Orbiter would have eight payloads, Lander three and Rover two.
