India's Moon Exploration Program

[Indx TechStyle]

Higher apogee received during the launch has saved the fuel. Which will prolonged the life of Moon orbiter.

That's a much smaller factor against the buffer time.

 

[HariPrasad-1]

Na congratulate karta toh zyada achha rehta.

No . Take it into spirit and ignore the language.

 

[HariPrasad-1]

That's a much smaller factor against the buffer time.

I am not talking at all about any time. Fuel saved in orbit maneuvers can be used to prolong the life of satellite as it will have more fuel than planned.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Aug 06, 2019
Chandrayaan2 update: Fifth earth bound maneuver

Fifth earth bound orbit raising maneuver for Chandryaan-2 spacecraft has been performed successfully today (August 6, 2019) at 1504 hrs (IST) as planned, using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 1041 seconds. The orbit achieved is 276 x 142975 km.

All spacecraft parameters are normal.

The next maneuver is Trans Lunar Insertion (TLI), which is scheduled on August 14, 2019, between 0300 – 0400 hrs (IST).

 

[Holy Triad]

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman, K Sivan: On 14th early morning, around 3:30, we are going to have a maneuver called trans-lunar injection, by this maneuver, #Chandrayaan2 will leave earth & move towards the moon.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Aug 14, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 Successfully enters Lunar Transfer Trajectory

The final orbit raising manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was successfully carried out today (August 14, 2019) at 02:21 am IST. During this maneuver, the spacecraft's liquid engine was fired for about 1203 seconds. With this, Chandrayaan-2 entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory. Earlier, the spacecraft’s orbit was progressively increased five times during July 23 to August 06, 2019.

The health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Byalalu, near Bengaluru. Since its launch on July 22, 2019 by GSLV MkIII-M1 vehicle, all systems onboard Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft are performing normal.

Chandrayaan-2 will approach Moon on August 20, 2019 and the spacecraft's liquid engine will be fired again to insert the spacecraft into a lunar orbit. Following this, there will be further four orbit maneuvers to make the spacecraft enter into its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon’s surface.

Tentative plan for future operation after Trans Lunar Injection are as follows,

Subsequently, Vikram lander will separate from the orbiter on September 02, 2019. Two orbit maneuvers will be performed on the lander before the initiation of powered descent to make a soft landing on the lunar surface on September 07, 2019.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

50 Years After Apollo, India Is Carrying a NASA Laser Reflector to the Moon (And It's Only the Start)

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Aug 19, 2019
ISRO Press Meet on the occasion of Lunar Orbit Insertion of Chandrayaan-2 Mission

A Press Meet will be held at 1100 hrs (11:00 AM) on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at ISRO Headquarters, New BEL Road, Bengaluru 560094 on ‘Chandrayaan-2 Mission after Lunar Orbit Insertion’.

All Media houses are invited to cover this event.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Aug 20, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 update: Lunar Orbit Insertion

Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) maneuver was completed successfully today (August 20, 2019). The duration of maneuver was 1738 seconds beginning from 0902 hrs IST. With this, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into a Lunar orbit. The orbit achieved is 114 km x 18072 km.

Following this, a series of orbit maneuvers will be performed on Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to enable it to enter its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon’s surface.

Subsequently, the lander will separate from the Orbiter and enters into a 100 km X 30 km orbit around the Moon. Then, it will perform a series of complex braking maneuvers to soft land in the South polar region of the Moon on September 7, 2019.

The health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru. All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 are healthy.

The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled tomorrow (August 21, 2019) between 1230-13:30 hrs IST.

 

[bhramos]

........................................................................

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Aug 21, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 update: Second Lunar Orbit Maneuver

Second Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 21, 2019) beginning at 1250 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 1228 seconds. The orbit achieved is 118 km x 4412 km.

All spacecraft parameters are normal.

The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on August 28, 2019 between 0530 - 0630 hrs IST.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Chandrayaan-2: Moon landing at 1.55am September 7

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Aug 22, 2019
Moon as viewed by Chandrayaan-2 LI4 Camera on 21 August 2019 19:03 UT

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Aug 26, 2019
Images of Lunar Surface captured by Terrain Mapping Camera -2 (TMC-2) of Chandrayaan 2
Lunar surface imaged by Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC-2) on 23rd August 2019 at an altitude of ~4375 km showing impact craters such as Jackson, Mitra, Mach and Korolev.

Jackson is an impact crater located in the northern hemisphere of the far side of the Moon. It is a 71 km dia crater at 22.4°N and 163.1°W (shown in the inset). The interesting feature at the western outer rim of Mach crater is another impact crater, Mitra (92 km dia). It is named after Prof. Sisir Kumar Mitra, who was an Indian physicist and Padma Bhushan recipient known for his pioneering work in the field of ionosphere and Radiophysics. The Korolev crater seen in the image is a 437 km crater which has several small craters of varying sizes.

Lunar surface imaged by Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC-2) on 23rd August 2019 at an altitude of ~4375 km showing impact craters such as Sommerfeld and Kirkwood.

Sommerfeld is a large impact crater located in the farside northern latitudes of the Moon. It is a 169km dia crater at 65.2°N and 162.4°W. It has relatively flat interior surrounded by a ring mountain and a number of smaller craters lie along the rim edge. The crater is named after Dr. Arnold Sommerfeld who is a German physicist pioneered in the field of atomic and quantum physics. North east to this crater lies the Kirkwood crater named after the American astronomer Daniel Kirkwood, another well-formed impact crater which is approximately 68 km dia.

Lunar north polar region imaged by Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC-2) on 23rd August 2019 at an altitude of ~4375 km showing impact craters such as Plaskett (109km), Rozhdestvenskiy (177km) and Hermite (104 km ; one of the coldest spots in the solar system ~ 25 deg K).

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Aug 28, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 update: Third Lunar bound Orbit Maneuver

Third Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 28, 2019) beginning at 0904 hrs IST, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 1190 seconds. The orbit achieved is 179 km x 1412 km.

All spacecraft parameters are normal.

The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on August 30, 2019 between 1800 - 1900 hrs IST.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Aug 30, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 update: Fourth Lunar Orbit Maneuver

Fourth Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (August 30, 2019) beginning at 1818 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 1155 seconds. The orbit achieved is 124 km x 164 km.

All spacecraft parameters are normal.

The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled on September 01, 2019 between 1800 - 1900 hrs IST.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

^^^^^
So, lander-rover set will separate from orbiter on 1st September.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Was busy editing on Wikipedia, completely forgot to post here.
Sep 01, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 update: Fifth Lunar Orbit Maneuver

The final and fifth Lunar bound orbit maneuver for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully today (September 01, 2019) beginning at 1821 hrs IST as planned, using the onboard propulsion system. The duration of the maneuver was 52 seconds. The orbit achieved is 119 km x 127 km.

All spacecraft parameters are normal.

The next operation is the separation of Vikram Lander from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, which is scheduled on September 02, 2019, between 1245 – 1345 hrs (IST). Following this, there will be two deorbit maneuvers of Vikram Lander to prepare for its landing in the south polar region of the moon.

Tentative plan for future operations after today’s maneuver are as follows,

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Yes yes yes!!
Sep 02, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 update: Vikram Lander successfully separates from Orbiter

The Vikram Lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter at 1315 Hrs IST today (September02, 2019). The Vikram Lander is currently located in an orbit of 119 km x 127 km. The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in its existing orbit.

The health of the Orbiter and Lander is being monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru. All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Lander are healthy.

The next maneuver is scheduled tomorrow (September 03, 2019) between 0845-0945 hrs IST.

 

[HariPrasad-1]

Yes yes yes!!
Sep 02, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 update: Vikram Lander successfully separates from Orbiter

Superb. Till this time, all operations are copy book. Fingers crossed for next 5 days.

Har har Mahadev.