Chandrayaan-2 finds easily detectable ‘Argon-40’ isotope - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Chandrayaan-2 finds easily detectable ‘Argon-40’ isotope.

Highlights
• Among the radiogenic gases on the lunar surface, 40Ar is one of the isotopes of Argon, a noble gas
• The detection of 40Ar is significant for Isro, but this won’t be the first time that the isotope has been studied, given that it has a high escape rate
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Thursday said that the Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) payload on Chandrayaan-2 has detected Argon-40 (40Ar) from the lunar exosphere.

Among the radiogenic gases on the lunar surface, 40Ar is one of the isotopes of Argon, a noble gas. “Argon, is an important constituent of the lunar exosphere. It originates from the radioactive disintegration of Potassium-40 (40K), which has a half-life of 1.2 X 109 years,” Isro said in a statement it made public on Wednesday evening.
The statement further read that 40K nuclide, which is present deep below the lunar surface, disintegrates to 40Ar, which, in turn, makes way up to the lunar exosphere through seepages and faults.
The detection of 40Ar is significant for Isro, but this won’t be the first time that the isotope has been studied, given that it has a high escape rate.
R Richard Hodges from the University of Colorado Boulder, in a research paper published earlier, says: “In polar areas of the moon the maximum temperatures reached in some permanently shaded areas are well below the temperature required to retain water ice for billions of years, and cold enough to hold other volatiles for shorter periods. Aside from water, the most significant lunar volatiles are the radiogenic gases, of which argon-40 is the most easily detected, both in situ and as retrapped ions in rocks returned from the surface on the moon.”
Argon-40 escapes from Moon at a surprisingly high rate that is between 3% and 6% of its total production.
“Its brief lifetime in the lunar exosphere is marked by numerous adsorption/desorption events. Collisions with the lunar surface in cold, permanently shaded areas lead to long term storage, forming reservoirs of trapped gas that may be disturbed occasionally to produce sudden increases in atmospheric argon,” the paper adds.
It is postulated that this may explain at least part of the time variations in Apollo 17 mass spectrometer measurements of argon that were previously attributed to internal processes associated with the release of radiogenic gases from the moon.


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Chandrayaan-2 finds easily detectable ‘Argon-40’ isotope.

All is not lost for Chandrayaan-2 as orbiter to give crucial mission data - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

All is not lost for Chandrayaan-2 as orbiter to give crucial mission data.

• The box-shaped orbiter which weighs roughly around 2,379 kgs is currently revolving around the moon
• A major goal of Chandrayaan-2 is to study the chemical and mineral composition of the lunar surface
India may have missed the opportunity to attempt a historic soft landing on the moon, but its Chandrayaan-2 would continue to explore the earth’s only natural satellite with the help of orbiter that remains in orbit around the moon.
The box-shaped orbiter which weighs roughly around 2,379 kgs is currently revolving around the moon, nearly 100 kms above its surface. Out of the total 13 payloads that Chandrayaan-2 carried, as many as seven are onboard the orbiter which is set to collect one of the most crucial data for the mission.

During the next one year, it will continue to collect remote sensing observations that will help the scientists at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to strengthen their understanding of Earth’s only natural satellite. Lander Vikram was planned to support these observations with data collected from the landing site near the unexplored region of lunar South pole.
The small Terrain Mapping Camera-2 aboard orbiter would help create a high resolution, 3-D map of the lunar surface that will give insights into the origin and evolution of moon over the years.
A major goal of the mission is to study the chemical and mineral composition of the lunar surface, which is crucial for undertaking future deep space missions. This data would be provided by the soft x-ray spectrometers on the orbiter which will examine the presence of major elements such as Magnesium, Alumnium, Silicon, Iron, Sodium, Titanium and Calcium and help scientists to study the elemental composition of the moon.
The spectrometers would detect these elements by measuring the characteristic X-rays they emit when excited by the solar rays. The Solar X-ray monitor would measure the intensity of these solar radiations reflected off the moon’s surface.
Another payload called the Imaging IR Spectrometer would provide a high resolution quantitative data on the availability of water-ice on the moon, to build on the findings of Chandrayaan-2 which gave the world evidence of presence of water on the moon in 2008.
Apart from seven payloads, it also has one experiment that it will conduct while orbiting around the moon.
The major findings from India's first mission to the moon had come from the orbiter which continued to provide data for almost an year after the launch in October 2008. A lunar impact probe that was part of the mission had just impacted the lunar surface.


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All is not lost for Chandrayaan-2 as orbiter to give crucial mission data.

Chandrayaan-2 sends the first set of images of Moon from lunar orbit - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Chandrayaan-2 sends the first set of images of Moon from lunar orbit.

• Isro has also identified one of the most striking large-scale features on the Moon—the Mare Orientale basin
• Earth’s closest neighbour, moon is nearly 384,402 km away from the planet
Day after it entered the lunar orbit, India's second mission to the moon Chandrayaan-2 has captured the first images of the moon.
The images released by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) were captured by the indigenously built Lander Vikram on Wednesday, while orbiting the moon at a height of about 2,650 kms from the lunar surface. Lander Vikram is part of the integrated mission module of Chandrayaan-2 carrying an orbiter, Lander Vikram and Rover Pragyaan.

ISRO has also identified one of the most striking large-scale features on the moon- Mare Orientale basin, which is believed to be nearly 3 billion years old.
According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it was formed when an asteroid sized body collided with the moon. Initially, the astronomers thought these regions to be lunar seas and called them mare, which is Latin for sea.
The agency has also identified the Apollo craters located on the far side of the Moon in the images released on Thursday. Since, people from earth only see one side of the moon, the side opposite to it is called the far, or dark, side.
The agency has also identified the Apollo craters located on the far side of the moon as it marks in the image released on Thursday. Since, people from earth only see one side of the moon, the side opposite to it is called the far side.
Earth's closest neighbour, Moon is nearly 3.84 lakh kms away from the planet. India's first visit to the moon was in October 2008, when it gave the world evidence of the presence of water molecules on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-2 is India’s second mission to the moon and took off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on July 22. After revolving around the earth’s orbit for nearly 23 days, it began its journey to the moon on August 14.
On August 20, the premier agency announced that the spacecraft has successfully entered the lunar orbit. However, it is yet to reach the defined orbit of 100x100km. The mission module is now days away from its historic soft landing on the moon, scheduled for September 7.
A successful touchdown on the moon will bring India into the elite club of nations including US, Russia and China to have achieved the feat. However, the mission would be the first in the world to reach near the south pole of the moon, which had not been explored by any other country before.


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Chandrayaan-2 sends the first set of images of Moon from lunar orbit.

How will Chandrayaan 2 study the moon? - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

How will Chandrayaan 2 study the moon?.

Why is India’s first attempt at a powered lunar landing important?.

The story so far: When Chandrayaan 1, India’s first moon mission was launched on October 22, 2008, from Sriharikota, using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), India became the fourth country to plant its flag on the lunar surface. On the moon, the mission conclusively detected traces of water along with magnesium, aluminium and silicon. Now, close to a decade later, India will launch its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan 2, on July 15, 2019, again from Sriharikota, using the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III rocket. The launch falls a day short of the 50th anniversary of the launch of the American mission Apollo 11 which took humans to the moon and back. The first moon landing occurred on July 20, 1969, on the Apollo 11 mission which was launched on July 16.

How will the launch work?
The GSLV Mark III rocket will first launch the spacecraft into an Earth Parking Orbit (170 km X 40,400 km). Then the height of the orbit will be enhanced until the spacecraft can reach out to the Lunar Transfer Trajectory. On entering the moon’s sphere of influence, on-board thrusters will slow down the spacecraft, allowing it to be captured by the moon. Then it will be eased into a circular orbit (100 km X 100 km). From this orbit, the lander and rover will separate as a unit from the orbiter, and, through a series of braking mechanisms, the duo will “soft-land” on the moon, on September 6, 2019.
What is special about Chandrayaan 2?
Chandrayaan 2 will be the first mission to reach and study the south pole of the moon. It is made up of an orbiter, a lander named ‘Vikram’, after Vikram A. Sarabhai, the founding father of space science research in India, and a rover named ‘Pragyan’, which means ‘wisdom’. At about 3,877 kg, the spacecraft weighs nearly four times its predecessor, Chandrayaan 1. It will be launched by the GSLV Mark III, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) most powerful and massive launcher. While Chandrayaan 1 sent its lander crashing into the moon, Chandrayaan 2 will use rocket technology to soft land ‘Vikram’, carrying its ‘Pragyan’ rover in a suitable high plain on the lunar surface, between two craters, Manzinus-C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70º South. This landing is scheduled for September 6 this year. The total cost of the project is about ₹978 crore. The lander-rover combo has an expected lifetime of 14 days, while the orbiter will continue for a year.
How does the ‘Pragyan’ rover operate and what determines its lifetime?
The time taken for the moon to complete one rotation on its axis is approximately equal to 29.5 earth days. This is also equal to the time it takes to complete one orbit around the earth. That is why the same side always faces the earth. But because it takes 29.5 earth days to complete one rotation, every point on its surface experiences daylight for about half the time, or a little more than 14 days at a stretch. Moon days are nearly 14 earth days long. Note that the landing is scheduled for September 6, when we will see the first quarter of the moon. This is a date when the lander will land at a point that is facing the earth and which has started receiving sunlight.
This point will receive light for nearly another fortnight which will match the expected lifetime of the lander-rover combo. Since the ‘Vikram’ lander and ‘Pragyan’ rover are powered by solar energy, they will be energised during this period by sunlight on the moon. Once night falls, this energy will not be available as they are plunged into a dark and cold -180º Celsius environment. If the lander-rover duo should kickstart after another half-rotation when day breaks once again, it will be a bonus for the ISRO.
The mission is not designed to survive this extreme cold, unlike some U.S. and Chinese missions which survived on the “dark” side of the moon using special sources of warmth.
How will the mission study the moon?
Using the Terrain Mapping Camera 2 which is on board the orbiter, the mission will produce images of the moon remotely from a 100 km lunar polar orbit. While the moon rotates about its axis, along its east-west direction, say, the lunar polar orbit will be in the perpendicular direction, along the lunar north-south direction. Thus, as the moon rotates, the orbiter gets a view of its entire surface from overhead. This data collected by the orbiter will be used to produce a 3D image of the moon’s terrain. This is just one of the eight instruments, or payloads, on board the orbiter. The lander carries three such payloads, some of which will measure the electron density and temperature near the lunar surface; the vertical temperature gradient, and seismicity around the landing site.
The rover will carry two instruments or payloads which will collect and test samples from the moon’s surface to identify what elements they contain. The rover moves on six wheels and once let down on the moon, can travel about 500 m from the lander.
What is the success rate of “soft-landing” on the moon?
There have been 38 attempts so far at “soft-landing” on the moon, with a success rate of 52% according to the ISRO website.
Why should we have this mission? Why should we study the moon?
The moon offers a pristine environment to study. It is also closer than other celestial bodies. Understanding how it formed and evolved can help us better understand the solar system and even earth itself. With space travel taking shape and exoplanets being discovered everyday, learning more about earth’s celestial neighbour can help in advanced missions. Finally, it is a piece of the larger puzzle as to how the solar system and its planets have evolved.


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How will Chandrayaan 2 study the moon?.

Chandrayaan-2 launch to take place between July 9-16: ISRO - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Chandrayaan-2 launch to take place between July 9-16: ISRO.

• According to ISRO, Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar mission and has three modules Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan)
• After launch into earth bound orbit, the integrated module will reach Moon orbit using Orbiter propulsion module

The Indian Space Research Organisation is all set to embark on its most complex mission ever undertaken as thespace agency is gearing to launch Chandrayaan-2 between July 9 and 16. The landing on the moon is expected to be on September 6, ISRO chairman K Sivan said.
"It is going to land at a particular location where nobody has gone before," he added. Sivan said following the successful launch of the radar imaging earth observation satellite, RISAT-2B, on-board PSLV-C46 Wednesday, the next one- Chandrayaan-2 -is going to be a landmark mission for India. "It is going to be the most complex mission ever undertaken by ISRO. It is going to take place between July 9 and 16, this year", he said, addressing scientists from the Mission Control Centre.
The agency would look at the landing (rover) on the surface of the Moon on September 6, he said.
According to ISRO, Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar mission and has three modules Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan).
The Orbiter and Lander modules would be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the launch vehicle -- GSLV-MkIII.
After launch into earth bound orbit, the integrated module will reach Moon orbit using Orbiter propulsion module.
The Lander would separate from the Orbiter and soft land at the pre-determined site close to lunar South Pole.
The Rover would roll out for carrying out scientific experiments on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-2 would have 13 payloads and one passive experiment from American space agency NASA.
ISRO had said earlier that eight payloads on Orbiter, three on lander and two on Rover and one passive experiment from NASA would be carried on Chandrayaan-2.
Chandrayaan 2 is an advanced version of the previous Chandrayaan 1 mission successfully launched about 10 years ago.
Chandrayaan 1 had 11 payloads -- five from India, three from Europe, two from USA, 1 from Bulgaria and the mission was credited with the discovery of water on the lunar surface.
The 1.4 tonne spacecraft was launched using PSLV and the orbiter had orbited 100 km from the lunar surface. (Source: Livemint)


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Chandrayaan-2 launch to take place between July 9-16: ISRO.

Chang’e-4 and Chandrayaan-2 — China & India missions have similar objectives, landing site - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Chang’e-4 and Chandrayaan-2 — China & India missions have similar objectives, landing site.

China made history Thursday by becoming the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon, a feat India is expected to repeat soon with Chandrayaan-2.

Not a lot of information is available on Chandrayaan-2 just yet, but the overall mission is similar in objectives and area of operation to the Chinese craft, Chang’e-4. Its launch date is yet to be announced, but its landing site is expected to be close to that of Chang’e-4.
Mission profile and objectives :
Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to the moon, will comprise an orbiter, a lander named Vikram [after the father of Indian space programme Vikram Sarabhai], and a rover.
It was supposed to be launched Thursday, but the mission was postponed.
The landing site for the Chandrayaan-2 rover is expected to be between the two craters Manzinus C and Simpelius N near the southern pole of the moon.
The orbiter will go around the moon at an altitude of 100 km, acting as a communication relay between the lander/rover and Earth.
The far side of the moon can never be in direct line-of-sight with Earth, proving direct radio communication impossible, which is why the orbiter is needed.
It will carry five instruments: A radar that will probe a few metres below the surface to detect water ice, two spectrometers to study the minerals on the surface, one that studies the lunar exosphere and a camera for geology.
The Vikram lander will perform a soft landing on the lunar surface. It consists of four payloads that will study moonquakes, heat properties of the lunar regolith (soil), the lunar surface charging due to radiation, and measure of electrons in the atmosphere when radio waves pass through it.
The six-wheeled rover will be deployed by the Vikram lander soon after landing, and will operate on solar power. It will have two cameras in the front that function as the rover’s eyes: Their combined imaging will provide a 3D visualisation of the path ahead, enabling scientists to plan its next move.
Four of its grooved wheels have independent steering, which will enable them to get unstuck from the lunar regolith. A total of 10 electric motors will help the rover navigate.
The mass of the orbiter, lander and rover respectively is expected to be 2,379 kg, 1,471 kg, and 27 kg. The mission is expected to last a year, with the lander and rover both working for about a fortnight.
The Chandrayaan mission is completely indigenous, with all parts and payloads developed by India.
China’s Eyes on the Moon :
China’s Chang’e-4 is one of the country’s six missions for lunar exploration, all of which work in pairs.
Chang’e-1 and 2 were orbiters (2007 and 2010), Chang’e-3 & 4, landers (2013 and 2019), while the fifth and sixth missions will be aimed at bringing back samples in the 2030s, with China also planning to build a lunar outpost on the south pole of Earth’s satellite.
The Chang’e-4 landing site is the Von Kármán crater in the South Pole-Aitken basin, a large impact structure believed to have formed when a big body collided with the moon. It covers nearly a quarter of the moon’s surface.
The collision is expected to have exposed the lunar mantle, the region just below the moon’s crust but above the core.
By exploring this region directly, we expect the rover to learn more about the early solar system, lunar activity, how the moon was formed, and by extension, more about how Earth was formed as well.
While Chandrayaan-2 will have an orbiter going around the moon, Chang’e will use a relay satellite in a halo orbit (orbiting an empty point in space) at the L2 Lagrange Point (points in a two-body system where the gravitational pull of the two bodies, such as Earth and the moon here, cancels out, enabling a stable orbit to ‘park’ spacecraft).
This satellite, called Queqiao, was launched earlier last year.
The lander carries with it a biosphere experiment consisting of tomato, potato and a flowering plant’s seeds, and silkworm eggs, within a sealed container.
The biosphere will function by itself, where if the eggs hatch, the carbon dioxide will feed the plants, and their photosynthesis will feed the larvae. A miniature camera will send progress images of the experiment. It carries two more cameras to map the terrain and a spectrometer to study the solar wind.
The 140-kg rover, named Yutu-2, is also solar-powered and operated by six wheels. It contains four payloads: A camera as ‘eyes’, a ground-penetrating radar similar to Chandrayaan’s, a spectrometer to identify minerals and trace gases, and an analyser to study the formation of lunar water and the interaction of the solar wind and the lunar soil.
The rover and the lander together weigh 1,200 kg. Chang’e-4 carries international payloads developed by Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia. The mission is expected to last a year, but Chinese scientists are confident it will go on longer.
Indo-China space race :
Both India and China are competing to race ahead in space exploration, with India targeting a second moon mission, a Venus mission, and a second Mars mission in the coming years.
China too has the same missions lined up.
As ISRO continues to announce a stream of missions, China set a world record with 38 launches in 2018.
India developed its own indigenous GPS, just as China did theirs.
The Chinese have also seen tremendous involvement of private players, raising the value of their space industry, and India is yet to play catch-up.
The Chinese space budget is estimated to be nearly Rs 56,000 crore a year, second only to the US. By contrast, India’s budget is less than Rs 10,000 crore.
Even so, 2019 looks all set to prove another exciting year for the space race brewing in Asia. (Source:defencenews.in)


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Chang’e-4 and Chandrayaan-2 — China & India missions have similar objectives, landing site.

How Chandrayaan-2 will perform its jobs once it lands on the moon - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

How Chandrayaan-2 will perform its jobs once it lands on the moon.

India launched its first lunar probe in October 2008, and it is setting up the stage for its second coming with Chandrayaan-2 liftoff. The mission will be ISRO's attempt to get a more delicate and close up look at the lunar surface, the launch of which is eagerly awaited.

Unlike the first mission which carried only Chandrayaan orbiter and the Moon Impact probe, this mission will have a lander and a rover apart from the orbiter, which has been developed by Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory (PRL).

Equipment attached to orbiter: Solar X-ray monitor ::
"There are three payloads developed by the PRL for Chandrayaan-2. The orbiter will have a solar X-ray monitor developed by PRL. It will monitor x-rays coming from the Sun and X-rays being generated on the surface of the moon," said PRL Director Dr Anil Bhardwaj, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 15th International Symposium on Equatorial Aeronomy, organised at the main PRL campus.
PRL, a unit of Department of Space, was founded in 1947.
Equipment attached to lander: ChaSTE ::
"On the lander, there will be Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE). This is a probe which will measure the temperature beneath the surface by getting inside the surface of the moon. It will do so after the lander lands on the moon," the director said, adding that this equipment will also be developed by PRL.
(ChaSTE) is one of the science experiments proposed to conduct in lunar surface in the Chandrayaan-2 mission.
Equipment attached to rover: Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer ::
For the rover, which will come out from the lander and meant to roam on the lunar surface, PRL has developed an instrument called 'Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer', said Bhardwaj.
"This instrument is designed to identify various elements and chemical compounds on the surface of the moon," he added.
Things you must know about Chandrayaan-2 ::
According to reports, Chandrayaan-2 is likely to be launched in January-March window in 2019. However, exact dates are not yet released.
- It will take one or two months for the orbiter to reach its designated place around the moon.
- After the orbiter reaches its designated place in the lunar orbit, the lander will depart from it along with the rover.
- Following a controlled fall, the lander will soft land on the lunar surface at the prescribed site and place the rover on the surface.
- The rover will spend 14 days on the lunar surface covering a distance of 150-200 km on the moon.
- The instruments on the rover will observe the lunar surface when it will walk on the moon.
- These instruments will also perform an on-site chemical investigation.
- The data will be sent back to earth through the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter (rover will send the data to the orbiter and the orbiter will send it back to earth) to analyse the lunar soil
Aiming for the sun with ISRO's Aditya-L1 mission ::
PRL is also developing instruments for 'Aditya-L1 mission', which is aimed at studying the Sun through a satellite placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, said Bharadwaj.
An instrument for the measurement of charged particles has also been developed, he said, adding, "With this instrument, we will be able to study solar winds, charged particles and its energy range."
As per ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) website, the satellite will be inserted in a halo orbit around the L1, which is 1.5 million km from the earth.
The project is approved and the satellite will be launched during 2019 2020 time frame by PSLV-XL from Sriharikota. (Source:defencenews.in)


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How Chandrayaan-2 will perform its jobs once it lands on the moon.

Chandrayaan-2 to be launched in January-March window in 2019, says ISRO - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Chandrayaan-2 to be launched in January-March window in 2019, says ISRO.

The reason for postponing the mission was that there were certain important changes made in the design so that it could easily land on the lunar surface, an ISRO official said.

India’s second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 will now be launched in the January-March window in 2019 instead of later this year as the design was changed to enable it to land on the lunar surface, a top ISRO official said on Sunday. “We have planned to launch Chandrayaan mission in January
We are fixing with that (date) and targeting that. But that is an open window. We can go up to March also. As we are coming closer (the date), we may miss the target,” he said.
The reason for postponing the mission was that there were certain important changes made in the design so that it could easily land on the lunar surface, he said. He was speaking on the sidelines of a function, where the bust of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the architect of the Indian space mission, was unveiled.
Asked why the weight of Chandrayaan-2 was increased by 600 kg, he said ISRO noticed during experiments that after the moon lander was ejected, the satellite would shake. So they decided that the design modification was required for landing and mass has to be increased. “We also realised that the orbiter required more phases, which required more fuel,” he told reporters.
On the space agency’s future missions, Sivan said ISRO also plans to launch 50 satellites in the next three years. The space agency would launch 22 satellites in 2019, the maximum in any year in the history of ISRO, he said. “Next year from February to December we plan to have 22 missions with almost two missions per month, which is a very important activity. This tight schedule of programmes we are doing for the first time. We have set a target. We may not be able to achieve but we are targeting it. So many missions in a year is a huge target for the first time in the history of ISRO,” Sivan said.
The remaining months of 2018 would also be very hectic for ISRO as it plans to launch at least two missions every month, he said. “Our next mission is PSLV C42, which will launch NOVASAT and S1-4. These two satellites are commercial satellites from the UK. It is a commercial mission and is planned in September. Subsequently, we have two missions each month,” the ISRO chief said.
In October this year, ISRO would launch GSAT29 for the Digital India programme and hyper spectrum imaging satellites along with 30 commercial satellites, Sivan said. The following month GSAT-7A will be launched, while in December there would be two missions, GSLV-F11 launching AMISAT and GSAT-31, a replacement for INSAT 4CR, whose life will get over by January, he said. ISRO would have two missions Chandrayan-2 by GSLV Mark 3 and the PSLV P45 launching RA-SAT 2B next year. The focus area of these launches was to enhance the communication so that rural India gets high bandwidth data connectivity, somewhere between 80 GBPS to 100 GBPS, he said.
Asked about GSAT 6A, with which communication had been lost after its launch in March 31 this year, he said ISRO has not given up hope and was still trying to establish radar contact with the satellite. “We have not given up hope. We will wait till a year,” he said when asked how much time ISRO would take to announce that the GSAT 6A was a failed mission.


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Chandrayaan-2 to be launched in January-March window in 2019, says ISRO.

Chandrayaan-2: India to hunt for priceless Helium-3 - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Chandrayaan-2: India to hunt for priceless Helium-3

India’s next moon mission Chandrayaan-2 will land on the lunar surface to search for deposits of helium-3 and its potential for mining.

India’s next moon mission Chandrayaan-2 will land on the lunar surface to search for deposits of helium-3 and its potential for mining. The isotope, abundant on the moon, could theoretically meet global energy demands for three to five centuries. Helium-3, the source of waste-free nuclear energy is expected to be worth trillions of dollars.
Chandrayaan-2 is expected to be launched in October this year. The mission includes an orbiter, lander and a rover. The rover will be operated for two weeks on the surface of the moon. The data will be transmitted from rover to lander and in turn to Isro for analysis.
“The countries which have the capacity to bring that source from the moon to Earth will dictate the process. We don’t want to be just a part of them, we want to lead them,” Isro chairman K.Sivan told foreign media in the course of meetings in Vienna.
Isro is also aiming to build a space station in orbit and put the Indian crew on the moon. But the government is yet to give approval for the programme. “We are ready and waiting. We have equipped ourselves to take on this programme,” he was quoted as saying.
Solar winds have bombarded the moon with immense quantities of helium-3 because it's not protected by a magnetic field like Earth is. There are an estimated 1 million metric tons of helium-3 embedded in the moon, though only about a quarter of that realistically could be brought to Earth.
Another expert estimated that helium-3's value at about five billion dollars a ton and with 2,50,000 tonnes it could be worth in trillions of dollars. “If the cost makes sense, it will become a game-changer,” another scientist said.
China is the only country to put a lander and rover on the moon this century with its Chang’e 3 mission in 2013. There are many obstacles to overcome before the material can be used - including the logistics of collection and delivery back to earth and build fusion power plants to convert the material into energy. If the mission succeeds, it will place India among the fleet of nations who explore the moon, Mars and beyond for scientific, commercial or military gains.(Source: The Deccan Chronicle)


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Chandrayaan-2: India to hunt for priceless Helium-3.

Isro will launch Chandrayaan-2 in Oct 1st week after tests: Chief Dr K Sivan - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

Isro will launch Chandrayaan-2 in Oct 1st week after tests: Chief Dr K Sivan.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Isro chief said, “The original targeted date for the launch was kept on April 23. However, as the ongoing tests for the lunar mission will take 20 more days."
• The Rs 800-crore Chandrayaan-2 mission is a totally indigenous mission.
• Isro is focusing on the launch of its satellite Gsat-6A by GSLVF08 rocket on March 29.
Indian Space Research Organisation’s Chandrayaan-2 mission, which was "originally scheduled for the April 23" will now be launched in the "first week of October".Explaining the reason for postponing the lunar mission, Isro chairman Dr K Sivantold TOI, "Our panel of eminent space scientists comprising former Isro chairmen, top space experts and IIT professors has praised our preparations for the Chandrayaan-2 mission. However, keeping in mind the complexities involved in the mission as for the first time Isro is experimenting with a orbiter, a rover and a lander, the panel recommended postponing the launch till we complete all tests and are confident of a perfect mission."
Dr Sivan said, "The original targeted date for the launch was kept on April 23. However, as the ongoing tests for the lunar mission will take 20 more days, the April 23rd date could not be met. Therefore the panel decided to defer the launch. Unlike, other satellite launches where Isro could easily defer the launch by a day or two to get a perfect mission, Isro can’t do the same in this mission. This is because the ideal date for the moon launch comes only once in a month. If we skip that date of the month, we have to plan the launch next month. After skipping the April date, if Isro launches the mission in the months from May to September, we won’t be able to utilise the full lunar day (14 Earth days) for experiments on the moon because of eclipses and other reasons. Therefore, Isro will launch the mission in the first week of October."
The Rs 800-crore Chandrayaan-2 mission is a totally indigenous mission. Once the GSLV-F10 put the spacecraft in the 170 km x 20,000 km elliptical orbit, the orbiter would be manoeuvred towards the 100-km lunar orbit by firing thrusters and then the lander housing the rover will separate from the orbiter. After a controlled descent, the lander will soft-land near the south pole of the lunar surface and deploy the rover.
During the 14 Earth days, the six-wheeled rover will have the power to move around 100-200 metre. The instruments, including a high-intensity camera, on the rover will observe the lunar surface and take images of the moon. It will send back data to the Earth via the orbiter within 15 minutes that will be useful for analysis of the lunar soil. Payloads of the 3,290kg Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.
Soft-landing on the lunar surface is the most challenging part of the mission. Till now, only the US, Russia and China have been able to soft-land spacecraft on the lunar surface.
Gsat-6A launch on March 29: With the Chandrayaan-2 mission launch deferred, Isro is currently focusing on the launch of its communication satellite Gsat-6A by GSLV-F08 rocket on March 29. Gsat-6A, with a life span of 10 years, is a high-powered S-band communication satellite weighing 2,140 kg that will provide a platform for developing technologies that will be useful for satellite-based mobile communication.(Source: The Times of India).


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Isro will launch Chandrayaan-2 in Oct 1st week after tests: Chief Dr K Sivan.