India launches probe and rover to the moon

India has launched its second lunar mission. Chandrayaan-2 is the country’s second mission to the moon, and the first to land on the moon. The mission consists of a probe, a lander and a rover.

Chandrayaan-2 took off on Monday morning aboard a GSLV rocket, a missile with a cryogenic rocket motor that India designed itself. The launch from the Satish Dhawan space center, near the city of Chennai, went well. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, the country’s heaviest rocket, launched the probe into orbit after eight minutes.

Over the next few weeks, the probe will continue to orbit slightly higher until Chandrayaan enters the moon’s gravitational field. The probe has a lifespan of one year, during which time it will take pictures of the lunar surface and take measurements for minerals on the moon. In addition to the probe, the mission also consists of a lander called Vikram, named after the founder of the Indian space agency, and a 27 kilogram rover called Pragyan, “wisdom” in Sanskrit. If the mission is successful, the lander and rover will land on the moon on September 7. The landing will take place around the moon’s south pole, where researchers say there is a good chance of finding water ice and other minerals. The probe will also investigate moonquakes.

Chandrayaan-2 is India’s second moon mission. The country already launched a probe to the moon in 2008: Chandrayaan-1 also fired a probe at the moon, but it was a hard landing that collected data shortly after the impact. The new mission is the first soft landing. After the probe lands, the rover drives out. It can drive a total of 500 meters over the surface. India gives the rover a lifespan of fourteen Earth days. This can be extended by charging the device with solar panels and putting it in sleep mode.

If successful, India will become the fourth country in the world to independently perform a soft landing on the moon. America and the former Soviet Union have already done so, and China landed the rover Yutu on the moon in 2013. India has had an ambitious space program for many years. For example, it is one of the few countries that has cryogenic fuel rockets at its disposal, a requirement for distant space missions. In the future, the country also wants to launch its own astronauts and build its own space station.