The Chandrayaan-2 mission recently divided into two separate spacecraft ahead of India’s first soft moon landing attempt, which is expected to take place on Sept. 7.
On Monday, the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and the Chandrayaan-2 Vikram Lander split from each other around 3:45 a.m. EDT, Space.com reported. The orbiter will orbit the moon’s poles for roughly 12 months while the lander will try to touch down on the lunar surface later this week, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a press statement. With two halves of the mission separated, the ISRO is now ready to study the moon’s orbit and surface features.
“All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Lander are healthy,” the ISRO said in the press release. “The next maneuver is scheduled tomorrow (September 3, 2019) between 0845-0945 hrs IST (approximately 11:15 p.m. to 12 a.m. EDT).”
#ISRO
Vikram Lander Successfully separates from #Chandrayaan2 Orbiter today (September 02, 2019) at 1315 hrs IST.For details please visit https://t.co/mSgp79R8YP pic.twitter.com/jP7kIwuZxH
— ISRO (@isro) September 2, 2019
Following a successful launch in late July, the Chandrayaan-2 mission has been preparing for India’s first soft landing on the moon. On Aug. 20, the Chandrayaan-2 mission entered lunar orbit, which involved a challenging engine burn that lasted approximately 29 minutes. Following this step, the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft orbited the moon for 14 days and during this time, mission control adjusted the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft’s orbit to position it over the moon’s poles. With these tweaks, the Chandrayaan-2 mission was able to successfully split, sending the orbiter and lander on their separate lunar objectives.
Why are countries across the world investing their resources to reach the Moon’s South Pole? Read on to find out. #Chandrayaan2 #ISRO #MoonMission pic.twitter.com/NHdcjsDKCL
— ISRO (@isro) August 19, 2019
The mission’s next big step will be to ace a lunar touchdown near the moon’s south side on Sept. 7. Once the Chandrayaan-2 Vikram Lander lands on the moon, it will deploy Pragyan, the Chandrayaan-2 mission’s rover, which will spend two weeks (one lunar day) collecting chemical and mineral samples from the moon’s surface.
If the landing operation goes well on Saturday, India will be the fourth nation to make a soft touchdown on the moon’s surface, following the Soviet Union, the U.S., and China.
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