Chandrayaan-2 mission was described as one of the most complex ever undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Chandryaan-2 was going to be carried to its designated orbit by ISRO’s most powerful launcher 640-tonne GSLV MK-III or “Bahubali”, a three-stage vehicle which is capable of launching 4-tonne class of satellites to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) in the space.
The Decision To Call Off
ISRO officials claimed that every one of the thirteen modules had its own set of scientific experiments and objectives. The lander and rover will only be functional for fourteen days or one lunar day whereas the Orbiter will continue its mission for a year. If everything goes according to plan, the lander will touchdown near the South Pole of the Moon on 6 September 2019.
Former Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Ravi Gupta gave the decision to call off Monday’s launch of the second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 and said that it was done at the right time before the occurrence of any big mishap with the vessel.
Chandrayaan 2, the successor to ISRO’s Chandrayaan 1 mission that confirmed the presence of water on the moon – a landmark achievement – was scheduled to spend 14 Earth days checking for more water reserves on the Moon but due to the cancellation of the mission, it is postponed till further notice.
What Now?
Apart from its disheartening tweet announcing that the Chandrayaan-2 mission has been called off, for now, the Indian Space Research Organisation has also not said much about what happens next.
However, a report by the news agency Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), said that the space agency will now focus on investigating what went wrong on the GSLV Mk-III and will soon provide a new launch date.
Significantly, the problem was observed on board the Rocket and not the Chandrayaan-2 payload, which means that the entire mission is not currently in jeopardy and will surely take a slightly long time to be rectified.
ISRO’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Guruprasad said the revised launch date will be announced sooner. Till then let us wait for the announcements of ISRO. Keep connected with us to be updated with the latest and trending news every day. Hope to see you soon.