Chandrayaan-2

Why in news?

• The failure of Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to the Moon, to make a soft-landing on the lunar surface had led to much disappointment. The lander and rover malfunctioned in the final moments and crash-landed, getting destroyed in the process.
• The Orbiter part of the mission has been functioning normally, and in the two years since that setback, the various instruments on board have gathered a wealth of new information that has added to our knowledge about the Moon and its environment.

About Chandrayaan-2

• Chandrayaan-2 was the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1.
• It consisted of a lunar orbiter, and also included the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover, all of which were developed in India.
• The main scientific objective was to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.
• Chandrayaan-2 mission is a highly complex mission, which represents a significant technological leap compared to the previous missions of ISRO, which brought together an Orbiter, Lander and Rover with the goal of exploring South Pole of the Moon.
• This is a unique mission which aims at studying not just one area of the Moon but all the areas combining the exosphere, the surface as well as the sub-surface of the moon in a single mission.
• The spacecraft was launched on 22 July 2019 by a GSLV Mark III-M1
• Although, the lander crashed and the original plans were scrapped off, the orbiter is still functioning and gathering data to its full intent.

Objectives

• The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-2 lander were to demonstrate the ability to soft-land and operate a robotic rover on the lunar surface.
• The scientific goals of the orbiter are:
  • To study lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.
  • To study the water ice in the south polar region and thickness of the lunar regolith on the surface.
  • To map the lunar surface and help to prepare 3D maps of it.

Why was the Lunar South Pole targetted for exploration?

• The Lunar South pole is especially interesting because of the lunar surface area that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the North Pole.
• There could be a possibility of presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it. In addition, South Pole region has craters that are cold traps and contain a fossil record of the early Solar System.

What is the information gathered by the orbiter till now?

• Presence of water molecules on moon:
  • The mission has given the most precise information about the presence of H2O molecules on the Moon till date.
• Presence of Minor elements:
  • Chromium, manganese and Sodium have been detected for the first time through remote sensing. The finding can lay the path for understanding magmatic evolution on the Moon and deeper insights into the nebular conditions as well as planetary differentiation.
• Information about solar flares:
  • A large number of microflares outside the active region have been observed for the first time, and according to ISRO, this “has great implications on the understanding of the mechanism behind heating of the solar corona”, which has been an open problem for many decades.
• Exploration of the permanently shadowed regions as well as craters and boulders underneath the regolith, the loose deposit comprising the top surface extending up to 3-4m in depth. This is expected to help scientists to zero in on future landing and drilling sites, including for human missions.

Add ons:

• Chandrayaan 3:
  • After the partial failure of Chandrayaan 2, ISRO has started working on a third lunar mission to land an unmanned spacecraft near the Moon's south pole.
  • The mission, which will consist of a lunar rover and a stationary lander.
  • ISRO will use the fully-functional orbiter successfully placed in lunar orbiter via Chandrayaan 2.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

With reference to ‘Chandrayaan-2’, consider the following statements:

1. The spacecraft was launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

2. It aims to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer