The mission took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 22. How was the journey so far?
India is all set to create history after midnight, as the Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander is scheduled to land on the surface of the moon between 1:30 AM to 2:30 AM on Saturday.
According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s updates, Vikram lander's soft landing on the lunar surface is scheduled between 1:30 am to 2:30 am on Saturday, September 07, 2019. This will be followed by the Pragyaan Rover rolling out of the spacecraft between 5:30 AM to 6:30 AM.
This mission will make India the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to conduct a soft landing on the lunar surface.
After revolving around the Earth's orbit for nearly 23 days, the craft began its journey to the moon on August 14.
The mission took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 22.
How was the journey so far? Let's revisit its timeline before the spacecraft makes history.
1. Inception
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In 2007, India signs a deal with the Russian premier space agency Roscosmos to jointly design the Chandrayaan-2, after the success of the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.
The two countries finished the design by August, around the time which the Chandrayaan-1 mission officially ended. However, later Russia says they cannot provide the Chandrayaan-2 lander by 2015, to India's disagreement.
In 2013, India decides to go the moon landing route alone and carry on the entire project indigenously from the country.
The spacecraft's launch had been scheduled for March 2018 but was delayed to conduct further tests on the vehicle. On 19 June 2018, a number of changes in configuration and landing sequence were planned for implementation, pushing the launch to the first half of 2019.
2. Integration
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On June 28, 2019, Assembly of the batteries for all stages of launch vehicle GSLV MkIII-M1/Chandrayaan 2 was completed.
June 29, 2019
Rover after completion of all tests integrated with lander Vikram.
Vikram lander (assembled with Pragyan Rover) integrated with Orbiter.
July 1, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 gets ready for integration with GSLV launcher.
July 2, 2019
Equipment bay camera cowling assembly completed. Radiofrequency checks completed with Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft.
Payload fairing assembly in progress.
July 5, 2019
Link checks for lander & orbiter from the ground station in progress.
Vehicle phase 3 level 2A checks completed.
3. Initiation
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On July 22, 2019, GSLV MkIII-M1 successfully launched Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft.
July 24, 2019
First earthbound orbit-raising manoeuvre for Chandryaan-2 spacecraft performed successfully using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 48 seconds.
July 26, 2019
Second earthbound orbit-raising manoeuvre for Chandryaan-2 spacecraft performed successfully today at 0108 hrs (IST).
August 4, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 Vikram Lander captures the first set of images of earth.
August 14, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 successfully enters Lunar Transfer Trajectory.
4. Destination
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September 1, 2019
The final and fifth Lunar bound orbit manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully.
September 2, 2019
The Vikram Lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter. The health of the Orbiter and Lander is being 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.
September 3, 2019
The first de-orbiting manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft performed successfully. The duration of the maneuver was 4 seconds.
September 4, 2019
The second de-orbiting manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft performed successfully. The duration of the maneuver was 9 seconds.
September 7, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to finally touch down on the south polar region of the moon.
(With inputs from Zee News)
