Difference between Chandrayaan 1 and 2: Details here

Bengaluru, Sep 06: About 10 years after the launch of India's first lunar mission, Chandrayaan 1, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists recall the nail-biting experience. This comes in the wake of Chandrayaan 2's 'Vikram' lander on the Moon in the early hours of Saturday.

ISRO scientists recalls Chandrayaan-1's launch in 2008. The ISRO faced a "very tough situation" during Chandrayaan-1's launch, as it had a very short launch window and the bad weather condition.

Achievement of Chandrayaan 1:

• Chandrayaan 1 scripted history by making more than 3,400 orbits around the Moon and was operational for 312 days till August 29, 2009.
• According to ISRO, the mission conclusively established traces of water on the moon, making a path-breaking discovery.
• Chandrayaan 1 also discovered water ice in the North polar region besides detecting magnesium, aluminum, and silicon on the lunar surface while global imaging of the moon was another achievement of the mission.

Unfortunately, ISRO lost communication with Chandrayaan-1 on August 29, 2009, almost a year after it was launched on October 22, 2008. Now, Chairman of the National Design and Research Forum, he termed the present Chandrayaan 2 mission, which seeks to make soft-landing of Vikram on the unexplored Lunar south pole, as another milestone in India's space journey.

Chandrayaan-2: How will Vikram locate precise landing spot near Lunar South pole

What makes Chandrayaan 2 special?

• 1st space mission to conduct a soft landing on the Moon's south polar region.
• 1st Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface with home-grown technology.
• 1st Indian mission to explore the lunar terrain with home-grown technology.
• 4th country ever to soft-land on the lunar surface. The lander is designed to execute India's first soft landing on the lunar surface.