Chandrayaan-2: A Memorable Mission Conducted by ISRO

Aims: The Chandrayaan-2 aims to wave the Indian flag on the dark side (South Pole) of the Moon that had never been rendered by any country before. The mission had conducted to gather more scientific information about the Moon. There were three main components of the Chandrayann-2 spacecraft- an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, means to collect data for the availability of water in the South Pole of the Moon. Place and Duration of Study: The rover (Pragyan) was designed to operate for one Lunar day that is equivalent to 14 Earth days, whereas the orbiter is assumed to orbit the Moon for seven years instead of the previously planned for just one year. Overview: The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft launched by India's heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV MKIII) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center launch pad located on Sriharikota island of Andhra Prades. Unlike, Chandrayaan-1, this lunar mission aimed to perform a soft-landing on the South Pole of the Lunar surface and do scientific experiments with the help of the rover (Pragyan). Reason: The Chandrayaan-1, the first lunar mission of ISRO that detected water molecules on the Moon. The Chandrayaan-2 was a follow-on mission of Chandrayaan-1 to explore the presence of water molecules on the South Pole of the Moon. Conclusion: Although the orbiter fulfilled all of the command, unfortunately, the lander (Lander) lost its communication at the last moment to touch the Moon’s surface softly. Despite that, India again showed its potential in space missions. Chandrayaan- 2 was the most low budget lunar mission ever conducted by any space organization. The developing or even underdeveloped countries may come forward in their space program as ISRO is showing a convenient way in space missions.

Download Full-text

1. On the Moon and the Weather

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ◽

10.1017/s0370164600000468 ◽

1884 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 187-189

Author(s):

John Aitken

Keyword(s):

Dark Side ◽

The Moon ◽

The South ◽

The Earth ◽

New Moon ◽

Clear Atmosphere ◽

Dark Body

When residing in the south of France lately, I happened to look at the new moon one evening through the clear air of the “Mistral,” which was blowing at the time, and not being able to see the dark body of the moon, it all at once struck me that something more was necessary than a clear atmosphere in order to enable us to see the dark side of the moon, and that the dark side would be best seen when the earth was to a great extent covered with clouds.

Download Full-text

Geologic structure generated by large-impact basin formation observed at the South Pole-Aitken basin on the Moon

Geophysical Research Letters ◽

10.1002/2014gl059478 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (8) ◽

pp. 2738-2745 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Makiko Ohtake ◽

Kisara Uemoto ◽

Yasuhiro Yokota ◽

Tomokatsu Morota ◽

Satoru Yamamoto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Impact ◽

South Pole ◽

The Moon ◽

Geologic Structure ◽

The South ◽

Basin Formation

Download Full-text

Earth as an Extrasolar Planet: South Pole Advantages

Highlights of Astronomy ◽

10.1017/s153929960001786x ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

pp. 970-970

Author(s):

Wesley A. Traub ◽

Antony A. Stark ◽

Kenneth W. Jucks ◽

Steven Kilston ◽

Edwin L. Turner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dark Side ◽

Extrasolar Planet ◽

South Pole ◽

The Moon ◽

The Earth

AbstractWe could observe the Earth as an extra-solar planet, viewing Earthshine on the dark side of the Moon, at the Pole, in winter.

Download Full-text

Ultramafic impact melt sheet beneath the South Pole–Aitken basin on the Moon

Geophysical Research Letters ◽

10.1029/2009gl040765 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 36 (22) ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Ryosuke Nakamura ◽

Tsuneo Matsunaga ◽

Yoshiko Ogawa ◽

Satoru Yamamoto ◽

Takahiro Hiroi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Pole ◽

The Moon ◽

The South ◽

Impact Melt

Download Full-text

Candidate landing sites and possible traverses at the south pole of the Moon for the LUVMI-X rover

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-11678 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marine Joulaud ◽

Jessica Flahaut ◽

Diego Urbina ◽

Hemanth K. Madakashira ◽

Gen Ito ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Global Analysis ◽

Lunar Regolith ◽

Radiation Detector ◽

South Pole ◽

The Moon ◽

The South ◽

Space Applications ◽

Surface Temperatures ◽

Landing Sites ◽

Technical Specifications

Lunar volatiles, such as water, are a crucial resource for future exploration, and their exploitation should enable the use of the Moon as a platform for even more remote destinations. As water is most likely to be found in the form of ice at the lunar poles (where surface temperatures can be as low as 40K, i.e. below the H2O temperature of sublimation in vacuum, 110K), multiple upcoming missions target the south pole (SP) cold traps. PSRs (Permanently Shadowed Regions) are especially cold enough to capture and retain volatiles but present challenging access conditions (rough topography, low illumination, low temperatures, limited Earth visibility).Funded by the EU program Horizon 2020, Space Applications Services developed the LUVMI-X rover (LUnar Volatiles Mobile Instrument eXtended), aimed at sampling and analysing lunar volatiles in the polar regions, including within a PSR. The LUVMI-X nominal payload includes an instrumented drill, the Volatiles Sampler (VS), along with a mass spectrometer, the Volatiles Analyser (VA), for surface and subsurface volatile detection and characterisation. A LIBS and a radiation detector are also included. Deployable and propellable surface science payloads are in development for inaccessible sites (e.g., some of the PSRs). This solar-powered rover has an autonomy of one or two Earth nights and can drill down to 20cm in the lunar regolith. The goal of this paper is to find suitable landing sites & traverses&#8217; paths for this rover project, that are both scientifically interesting and technically reachable.Available remote sensing imagery for the lunar SP was downloaded from the PDS or corresponding instruments&#8217; websites and added into a Geographic Information System (GIS). LUVMI-X scientific objectives and technical specifications were then translated into a list of criteria and computed in our GIS using reclassifications, buffers, and intersections. Using our GIS, reclassified data were overlaid with different weights to define and rank areas meeting the compulsory criteria. A global analysis was led to select the landing sites, followed by a local analysis (based on higher resolution data) for the establishment of traverses.The global GIS analysis allowed us to identify six regions of interest (ROI), which were compared with previous SP ROI from the literature (Lemelin, 2014; Flahaut, 2020). The identified ROI were further ranked based on areas and statistics on Sun and Earth visibilities, Diviner average surface temperatures, and H/water ice signatures (LPNS, LEND, M3).A prime ROI located between Shackleton and the Shoemaker/Faustini ridge was selected for traverse analysis. Four landing ellipses of 2x2km were located and ranked inside the ROI. Way Points (WP) were then identified to include the following scientific interests in each traverse: a boulder casting shadows, a PSR to throw a propellable payload in, an accessible PSR to go into, etc. As several WP are possible, Earth visibility was used to select the best ones. WP were then connected by using slope maps (LOLA DEM at 5m/px: avoid slopes over 20&#176;), Earth & Sun visibilities (avoid no-go zones) and the LROC NAC mosaics at 1m/px (avoid boulders and craters), constituting a tentative traverse.

Download Full-text

Iron distribution of the Moon observed by the Kaguya gamma-ray spectrometer: Geological implications for the South Pole-Aitken basin, the Orientale basin, and the Tycho crater

Icarus ◽

10.1016/j.icarus.2017.12.005 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 310 ◽

pp. 21-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

M. Naito ◽

N. Hasebe ◽

H. Nagaoka ◽

E. Shibamura ◽

M. Ohtake ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gamma Ray ◽

South Pole ◽

The Moon ◽

The South ◽

Iron Distribution ◽

Gamma Ray Spectrometer ◽

Geological Implications

Download Full-text

Studying “Luna Incognita”: The Region Near the South Pole

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s025292110009254x ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 98 ◽

pp. 146-146

Author(s):

Michel Legrand

Keyword(s):

South Pole ◽

The Moon ◽

The South

AbstractA region of approximately 270 000 km2 near the south pole of the Moon has not been mapped by spacecraft and Dr John Westfall of ALPO proposed the “Luna Incognita” programme in 1972 to try to cover this area. A brief summary of the problems of observing this limb region was given, together with the author’s experience using the T60 and 1-m telescopes at Pic du Midi.

Download Full-text