Page 31 - Newsletter

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CHANDRAYAAN 2 –INDIA’S MISSION TO THE LUNAR SOUTH POLE

India’s second mission to the
moon, Chandrayaan 2,will

boldly go where no country has
never been before, the Lunar

South Pole. Chandrayaan-2
attempts to foster a new age of
discovery, increase our

understanding of space,
stimulate the advancement of
technology, promote global

alliances, and inspire a future
generation of explorers and
scientists.

The Moon provides the best linkage to Earth’s early history. It offers an

undisturbed historical record of the inner solar system environment. Though there
are a few mature models, the origin of the moon still needs further explanations.
There is a possibility that there is water in the shadowed regions of the Lunar
South Pole that are completely untouched by the sun. The craters and the cold
traps might contain a fossil record of the early solar system that may help us
understand the origin of the earth.

The mission consists of a launcher , an orbiter, a lander and a rover. The GLSV Mk-III

is India’s most powerful launcher up to date and has been completely designed and
fabricated from within the country. The orbiter will observe the Lunar surface and

relay communication between the Earth and Chandrayaan 2’s lander- Vikram.
Vikram is designed to execute India’s first soft landing on the lunar surface. The rover

is a six wheeled AI powered vehicle called Pragyaan which in Sanskrit means
“wisdom”.

The experiments performed in this mission, aim to expand humanity’s understanding
of the origins of the solar system.

Source: https://www.isro.gov.in/chandrayaan2-spacecraft