Chandrayaan-2 LIVE: Crossed Milestone, Says ISRO Chief as Spacecraft Successfully Enters Lunar Orbit

Talking about the tricky nature of the operation, Dr Sivan explains, "A higher-than-expected approach velocity would have bounced off the spacecraft into deep space, while a slow approach would have led to the moon's gravity to pull Chandrayaan 2 and crash it on the lunar surface. The approach velocity had to be just right and the altitude over the moon rather precise. Even a small error or discrepency in the angle would have killed the mission."

Today's Maneuver Big Milestone, Says ISRO Chief | Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman, ISRO is now addressing a press conference over Chandrayaan 2. "The spacecraft reached a major milestone today. The maneuver that took around 30 mins. Put it in defined orbit in the perfect manner. Now it will be going around the moon with inclination of 88 degrees," he says.

All is Well, Says ISRO | ISRO said all the systems on Chandrayaan-2 were functioning normally, as expected and the health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru. 

The next Lunar bound orbit maneuver is scheduled tomorrow for August 21, 2019, between 1230-13:30 hrs IST. There will be four more orbit manoeuvres, which will take the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft into its final orbit of the Moon. This process of manoeuvering in the lunar orbit will be taking place from August 21 to September 1.

What Happens After the Spacecraft Lands on Moon? Once the Vikram lander has successfully landed on the surface, the Pragyan rover will do the exploration. This is a six-wheeled, AI-powered vehicle, which will collect data from the Moon’s surface. The rover has two primary instruments. The Lander and Rover are designed to work for 14 days, which is one lunar day.

One step closer!

#ISRO
Today (August 20, 2019) after the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI), #Chandrayaan2 is now in Lunar orbit. Lander Vikram will soft land on Moon on September 7, 2019 pic.twitter.com/6mS84pP6RD

— ISRO (@isro) August 20, 2019

Reactions have started to pour after Chandrayaan-2 was successfully placed in the lunar orbit today morning. One of the first to react is union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who writes:

Great news! #Chandrayaan2 moves closer to the Moon.
Congratulations @isro https://t.co/AY88nK0Pwq

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) August 20, 2019

What Next | Once Chandrayaan-2 is in the final orbit of the Moon, it will separate the Vikram lander from itself on September 2. It is the Vikram lander, which will make the soft landing on the moon. It will go through two more orbit manoeuvers before a powered descent for landing on the surface of the moon.

After shooting off into space, the spacecraft's orbit was "progressively increased five times" between July 23 and August 6. It was then flung towards the moon, at a distance of 3.84 lakh kilometres away.

If successful, the mission will make India the fourth country to soft land a rover on the lunar surface after Russia, US and China. The last nation to attempt a soft landing on the moon, Israel, failed in its earlier this year.

The duration of maneuver was 1738 seconds. With this, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into a Lunar orbit. The orbit achieved is 114 km x 18072 km, ISRO confirmed. 

Chandrayaan 2 Placed in Moon's Orbit | India's moonshot Chandrayaan 2 has been successfully manoeuvred into lunar orbit today, after nearly 30 days of interstellar travel. This was am extremely crucial step in the spacecraft's journey as the approach velocity had to be just right and the altitude over the moon rather precise. Even a small error would have killed the mission.

The health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Byalalu, near Bengaluru. All systems on board Chandrayaan2 spacecraft are performing normal, ISRO said on August 14.

Story of Chandrayaan-2 | Chandrayaan 2 had lifted off from India's spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on July 22. The lift-off was successful in its second attempt, a week after it was aborted just under an hour from its launch due to a technical glitch. The mission stands out because of its low cost, with just about Rs. 1,000 crore spent — a much smaller price tag compared to similar missions by other countries.

ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan to brief media at 11 am.

#ISRO
Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman, ISRO will brief media today (August 20, 2019) at 1100 hrs IST on the occasion of Lunar Orbit Insertion of #Chandrayaan2
Stay tuned on our website and youtube channel to watch live

— ISRO (@isro) August 20, 2019

Dark Side of the Moon | The Vikram lander will be landing on the southern pole of the Moon which has so far been unexplored. According to the ISRO, the Moon’s surface in the south pole is in the shadows more than the surface in the north pole. After it successfully lands, the spacecraft will rollout the rover for exploring the surface of the Moon there.

No Room for Errors in Moon Mission | The process of setting down Chandrayaan 2 on the Moon is very complex since it blasted off at a velocity of 39,240 kilometres per hour, which is almost 30 times the speed at which sound travels through air. ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan said, "One can imagine even a small error can make Chandrayaan 2 miss its rendezvous with the Moon."  

Once Chandrayaan-2 is in the final orbit of the Moon, it will separate the Vikram lander from itself on September 2. It is the Vikram lander, which will make the soft landing on the moon. It will go through two more orbit manoeuvers before a powered descent for landing on the surface of the moon.

So far, Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft has raised its orbit five times from July 23 to August 6. The spacecraft was launched on July 22 by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the Sriharikota launch range on the GSLV MK-III rocket.

How Chandrayaan-2 Will Capture Lunar Orbit  | To make the spacecraft capture the lunar orbit and start going around the moon, its handlers at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will fire its engines briefly to slow it down to capture the moon's orbit. The move, called the Lunar Orbit Insertion or LOI, is probably one of the two top orbit manoeuvres of the mission, along with the high point: the soft-landing of the Vikram lander on the southern polar region of moon on September 7.

History in Making | If the landing is successful, it will make India the fourth country in the world to successfully do a soft landing on the satellite’s surface. The previous moon mission Chandrayaan-1 had a hard landing on Moon’s surface.

Chandrayaan-2's Critical Manoeuvre Today | The moon-bound Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft is scheduled to undergo a crucial orbit manoeuvre around 9.30 a.m. today morning as it approaches its destination.This is one of the most tricky operations in the mission because if the satellite approaches the Moon at a higher-than-expected velocity it will bounce off it and get lost in deep space. But If it approaches at a slow velocity, the Moon's gravity will pull the Chandrayaan 2 and it might crash into the surface.