News Science Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

Chandrayaan-2's success will make India the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to pull off a soft landing on the moon. ISRO's budget is less than 20 times that of NASA.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission Image Source : ISROPostcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

Chandrayaan - 2 launch scheduled on 15th July 2019 at 2:51hrs was called off due to a technical snag noticed at around one hour before launch. The launch is now rescheduled on July 22, 2019, at 2:43 pm from Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota onboard GSLV Mk-III.

Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

Distance between the earth and the moon is 384,400 km. It means the moon is about 30 earth away from earth.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

One day on the Moon lasts as long as 29.5 Earth days.'

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

The moon is roughly a quarter of the earth's size. 

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

Solar energy will be used by both the lander and the rover to generate electricity.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

ISRO wants to know if the water is permanently found on the shadowed part of the Moon.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

ISRO chief K. Sivan said that the most terrifying part of the mission is 15 minutes after the lander separates from the orbiter.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

The rover ‘Pragyan’ is tucked inside the ‘Vikram’ lander and it will roll out after the lander makes its soft landing.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

The moon's gravity is one-sixth of the earth's gravity. That means if your weight on earth is 60 kg, it will be 10 kg on the moon. 

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

ISRO will be carrying 13 indigenous payloads and one instrument from NASA which is the Laser Retroreflector Array. Its mission life will last longer than Chandrayaan 2 and will study the Moon's interiors.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

The lander and rover will be conducting their experiments in over a period of 15 days.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

The rover has six wheels that will be painted in the Tricolor.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

Human footprints on the moon, in all likelihood, will last millions of years because there is no water or wind to erode them.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

The total cost of the Chandrayaan 2 mission is Rs 603 crores, excluding the rocket.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

The moon is not always the same distance away from the earth because its orbit is not a perfect circle.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission

Chandrayaan 2 is scheduled to launch on 15 July 2019 at 2.51 am IST from Sriharikota. If everything goes as planned, the lander will touchdown on the surface of Moon on 6 September 2019.

Postcards from Chandrayaan 2 launch: Magnificient pictures of ISRO's second moon mission