Category Archives: Chandrayaan-2

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 15-18 November 2019

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Chandryaan-3: India Reportedly Sets November 2020 Goal For Landing Near Moon South Pole

ISRO Second Effort At Soft Landing On Surface Of Moon In Late 2020; Chandrayaan-3 To Be Configured With Detachable Propulsion Module, Lander And Rover; Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Currently Functioning And Imaging With Onboard Terrain Mapping Camera-2 And Orbiter’s High-Resolution Camera From ~100-km Elevation; Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre Head V Narayanan (R) Leads Inquiry Into Chandrayaan-2 Lander Failure; Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director S Somanath (L) Leads Chandrayaan-3 Planning Committee

Credits: ISRO, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 13-16 Sep 2019

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Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter And LRO Seeking Vikram Lander On Surface

India Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter On 8 September Has Located Vikram Lander On Surface; 1,470-kg Vikram Is Believed To Have Inverted 11 Minutes After Beginning Descent, Causing Loss Of Control 2.1 Km From Surface; NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Scheduled To Overfly Landing Site 17 Sep; LRO Will Attempt To Image Vikram And Laser Retroreflector; Lunar Night Will Cover Landing Site Near Manzinus C Crater Around 21 Sep; India Prime Minister Modi Says “ISRO Spirit” Has United Country, Forecasts “New Dawn And Brighter Tomorrow”

Credits: NASA, ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 Sep 2019

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India Attempts First Moon South Pole Landing – In Peace For All

India Chandrayaan-2 Makes Historic Attempt At Landing In South Pole Area, Likely Region Of Future Human Settlement / International Moon Base; 682-kg Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter To Operate In Lunar Polar Orbit For >1 Year; 1,470-kg Vikram Lander And 27-kg Pragyan Rover Have Not Signaled Yet; PM Modi States ‘Whatever Has Been Accomplished So Far Is No Small Feat; We Remain Hopeful & Will Continue Working Hard On Our Space Programme’; India And USA Lunar Orbiters May Try To Locate / Image Craft On Moon Surface

Pictured: Prime Minister Modi (R) And ISRO Chair Sivan (L) At Bengaluru Monitoring Centre 7 September 2019 (India Standard Time)

Credits: ISRO, Times of India

Labor Day Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 30 Aug – 2 Sep 2019

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New Race To New South Pole:
Malapert Mt, Shackleton Rim In 2021?

USA Artemis Hopes To Land First Woman And Next Man On Lunar South Pole In 2024; India Chandrayaan-2 To Land At 70° S On 7 September; Chandrayaan-3 Planned With Japan Cooperation; Zhongguo Chang’e-4 Operating On South Pole-Aitken Basin With Chang’e-5 And Chang’e-6 Under Construction; Russia Luna 25 Hoping To Reach Polar Region In 2021; Moon Village Association Forecasts International Lunar Base; Blue Origin And SpaceX Among International Enterprises Racing To Bring Payloads To South Pole

Credits: ILOA, SPC, Canadensys Aerospace, ISRO, CNSA, Lockheed Martin, ESA, Roscosmos, SpaceX, Blue Origin

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 23-26 August 2019

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Chandrayaan-2 In Lunar Orbit Prepares For Landing And Chandrayaan-3 Joint Lunar Mission

India Chandrayaan-2 Photographs Moon From 4,212 km x 118 km Orbital Ellipse, Will Perform Another Orbit Change 28 Aug; 1,470-kg Vikram Lander And 27-kg Pragyan Rover Scheduled To Land 7 Sep Near Manzinus C And Simpelius N Craters At 70° S Latitude; Project Director M Vanitha (L) And Mission Director Ritu Kridhal (R) Expect To Operate 14 Days On Surface; ISRO In Talks With JAXA Planning Chandrayaan-3 Joint Lunar Polar Exploration Mission In 2023

Credits: ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 26-29 July 2019

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Chandrayaan-2 and Rising India-Zhongguo Space Age Cooperation

India Chandrayaan-2 Successfully En Route To Moon; Third Earth Orbit Raising Maneuver Expected 29 July; Trans Lunar Insertion Is Planned For 14 Aug And Lunar Orbit Insertion 20 Aug; 1,470-kg Vikram Lander And 27-kg Pragyan Rover Scheduled To Land 7 Sep Near Manzinus C And Simpellius N Craters At 70° S Latitude In South Polar Region; Payloads Include 22-g Retroreflector; Wu Weiren Of Chang’e-4 Mission And Hua Chunying Of Zhongguo Foreign Ministry Call For Cooperation With India In Lunar Exploration

Credits: ISRO, NASA

Friday / 12 July 2019

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Chandrayaan-2 Counts Down To First Lunar South Polar Region Landing

Chandrayaan-2 In Countdown To Launch 15 July From Satish Dhawan Space Center Atop Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III; First South Pole Region Landing And First India Soft-Landing Planned 6 Sep Between Manzinus C and Simpellius N Craters At 70° S Latitude; 2,380-kg Orbiter, 1,470-kg Lander And 27-kg Rover Carry 14 Science Payloads; Orbiter Is Expected To Operate One Year While Vikram Lander And Pragyan Rover Have Design Lifetime Of 15 Days On Surface; US$143M Budget Is Less Than Summer Movie

Credits: ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 31 May – 3 June 2019

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India Chandrayaan-2 Aims for Moon South Pole with 14 Science Payloads: 8 Orbiter, 4 Lander, 2 Rover

India Chandrayaan-2, Named For Moon Deity Chandra, Aims For First Landing In Lunar South Polar Region; Indian Space Research Organization Schedules Launch For 9-16 July And Landing ~6 Sep; ISRO Chairman K. Sivan States, “When Nobody Has Gone Near That Area, Some New Science Might Be There” About South Pole; Orbiter, ‘Vikram’ Lander And ‘Pragyan’ Rover Will Carry 14 Payloads Including Spectrometers, Solar X-ray Monitor, Radar, Seismometer And NASA Laser Retroreflector

Credits: ISRO

Friday / 17 May 2019

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Luna Firma Update From Chang’e-4, Beresheet, Future Chandrayaan-2

Zhongguo Chang’e-4 Is In Sleep Mode For Fifth Lunar Night; Yutu-2 Rover May Confirm First Signs Of Moon’s Hidden Mantle In South Pole-Aitken Basin; NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Finds Beresheet Crash Site, Will Search For Signs Of Laser Retroreflector; SpaceIL To Build Beresheet-2 With Private Funding And Technical Help From NASA; India Chandrayaan-2 Scheduled For Launch To South Polar Region NET 9 Jul, Will Carry Another NASA-Built Retroreflector For Measuring Earth-Moon Distance

Credits: NASA, ISRO, CNSA

Tuesday / 7 May 2019

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Chandrayaan-2 Planned For July Launch To Moon South Pole Region 

Indian Space Research Organization Chief K Sivan States Chandrayaan-2 To Launch Between 9 July And 16 July For Landing 6 Sep; Will Be Carried By Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III; First Mission To South Polar Region Will Land Between Manzinus C And Simpelius N Craters At 70° S Latitude; Times Of India Newspaper Reports That Only Orbiter Is Ready For Flight; Vikram Lander And Pragyan Rover Are Testing At Lunar Terrain Facility In Byalalu

Credits: ISRO, NASA