Chandrayan, India’s historic moon mission

Wow! So, India is finally joining the ‘men-who-touched-the-moon’ club!! This is great news. It’s sad that we are not landing any human on the moon. I was really hoping to see the Indian flag flying there alongside the American flag. Hmmm… I guess, I will have to wait for few more decades before that happens. Anyway, its a good thing that we are finally sending out the mission to moon. Also, landing a rover on the surface instad of a human seems to be the ‘cool’ thing for space engineers …

All the best to the folks @ ISRO and VSSC. The whole nation is praying and wishing for a grand successs of this historic mission….

Some details about the mission

Chandrayan, India’s historic moon mission, will be launched between October 22 and October 26. Director of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Satellite Centre Dr T K Alex and Project Director of the Chandrayan-I mission Dr Anna Durai informed media persons at Bengaluru on Thursday that the exact date for the launch has not been fixed, but the window period is between October 22 and 26.

Chandrayan will land a rover on the moon
Dr Alex added that the main objective of this mission was to understand the origin of the moon. Apart from conducting tests on the surface of the moon, the mission also intends to conduct tests on the poles of the moon. Scientists are planning to land a rover on the moon to carry out chemical analysis of the lunar surface.

Chandrayan technology ten times better than other nations
Chandrayan, which is being launched at a total cost of Rs 386 crore, is also scheduled to carry 11 payloads, which would include those from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Sweden, Japan, Germany and Bulgaria. Dr Alex further pointed out that the technology used for the Chandrayan mission is ten times better than other countries. Moreover, ISRO excels in remote sensing and imaging and hence the moon can be photographed from a close range of five metres from the ground.

The spacecraft undergoes crucial tests
The mission aims to cover the entire moon and gather as much information as possible. Currently, Chandrayan is going through crucial tests in Bengaluru. It still has to undergo the vibration and acoustic tests. The spacecraft will be subject to heavy vibration first and then the sound of four jet planes will be put together to check its endurance.

Chandrayan will not land on moon
However, Chandrayan will not land on the moon due to technical difficulties. The spacecraft would hover around the moon, said the ISRO team working on the moon mission. Chandrayan could provide important leads on the possibility of human habitation on the moon, said Dr Anna Durai.

ISRO recently established a 32-meter diameter antenna at Byalalu near Bengaluru to provide tracking and command support for Chandrayaan-I. The antenna and associated systems are the first steps in building the Indian Deep Space Network, which is vital for facilitating a two-way radio communication link between the spacecraft and the earth.