CHANDRAYAAN 2 LANDING LIVE UPDATES: ISRO'S LIVESTREAM KICKS OFF DISCUSSING HIGHLIGHTS AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT

SEP 07, 2019 01:16 IST

ISRO Chandrayaan 2 moon mission lastest updates: As ISRO mission engineers run final checks and monitor the lander, viewing gallery is filling up.

Update on the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter

The orbiter, which weighed 2,370 kg at the time of launch, gets 70% of its mass from fuel. It carried ~1,680 kgs of fuel for the road, and to make in-orbit adjustments over its year-long mission. 

Scenes from the control centre

Here are some images from the heart of ISRO's control centre in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Scientists gear up for the soft landing of Vikram lander on the South Pole region of the moon. 60 students from across the country, who were selected through the ISRO's 'Space Quiz' competition to watch the landing along with PM Modi, also present at the ISRO centre

As Chandrayaan 2 mission engineers run final checks and monitor the lander, viewing gallery is filling up!

What has been the most significant Moon mission for NASA?

NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger: Apollo 11 landing with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins was fantastic! The Apollo 12 mission was good as well. But I think the most significant Moon mission for the US was Apollo 13. We didn't make it to the Moon then. On the way, we had an issue in the tank, part of the spacecraft that got blown out.

But then we saw human ingenuity take over and keeping calm and working the problem in real time, getting all the astronauts back to Earth safely. It was probably NASA's greatest moment, as things didn't go according to plan but we were still able to get humans back to Earth.

We're digging this Chandrayaan 2-inspired Tintin cover!

GSLV-MkIII has a lot to do with making the Chandrayaan 2 & Gaganyaan missions a reality 

ISRO developed the GSLV MkIII with limited resources, limited cooperation from the world at large, strife from within, and a budget (of INR 160 Crores) that many space agencies would laugh at. This is nothing short of enviable. Here's how ISRO's heaviest rocket compares to some of the best in the world.

On the 15 mins of Terror: How scary is this, really? (2/2)

NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger: In this case of the Moon, there is no atmosphere. So, the Rover and Lander (modules) have to decelerate from a speed which roughly 25-30 times that of the fastest aircraft on land. If you are on the rover, you won't hear anything as there is vacuum of space there.

So it's a kind of freaky wow kind of thing, to bring the lander down from that speed. It is well thought out and it's very autonomous.

On the 15 mins of Terror: How scary is this, really? (1/2)

NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger: It's the critical part! I am reminded of my own coming back from the orbit, when we were going at Mach 25, which is 25 times the speed of sound. When you are entering the Earth's atmosphere when the friction is high, so that's our 45 minutes of terror. We have to hit the runway at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, at a speed of 225 knots! But you have the atmosphere and friction to slow you down.

From a bullock cart to the moon: A (very) brief history of ISRO

All India Radio has put together a short clip that talks about ISRO's journey from its inception several decades ago.

When we look down on Earth, we realise that we are all one: NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger Speaking about how space missions are unifying and aspirational, "I was with two Russian cosmonauts for five months. When we look down on Earth, we realise that we are all one. We have the same aspiration. We have the same humanness in us and we just want to move the mankind forward."

NASA astronaut and space analyst Jerry Linenger weighs in on what the landing means for the world!

"I just want everyone to know that the whole world is following this and it is not just Indians. This is the first time any country is going to the South Pole of the Moon!" says Linenger on Nat Geo's live stream. "India is leading this and as a representative of the US, we are nervous and we are hoping for success. This increases the knowledge base of the Moon"

Did you know when the moon is farthest from the Earth it is about 4,05,700 km away? 

The moon has an elliptical orbit which makes it quite close to Earth and sometimes quite far off.


Footprints on the moon will last forever and here's why The footprints of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon's surface, are still there. As the moon doesn't have an atmosphere there is no wind to blow the footprints away.

Your weight on the moon is 1/6th of that on the Earth!

The Moon's surface gravity is weaker because it is far less massive than Earth. That is why planets such as Jupiter and Saturn have such a strong gravitational force due to their giant size.

Here's some more information about the moon! The Moon orbits the Earth due to a gravitational force that the Earth exerts on it. However the Moon also has a gravitational force on our planet which causes the formation of tides in seas and oceans.



Here's a video by ISRO explaining how the Pragyan rover was made

https://twitter.com/isro/status/1169947156381192192

How much do you know about the Moon? The moon, with a diameter of about 2,159 miles (3,475 kilometers), is bigger than Pluto.

Here are some of the important Moon missions that have contributed to our knowledge

Here are all the future missions to the moon!

Chandrayaan 2  landing date and time, news, latest updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived at the venue, within minutes of lander's engines switch on for its powered descent to the moon's surface.

As ISRO mission engineers run final checks and monitor the lander, viewing gallery is filling up.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he is currently at the ISRO centre in Bengaluru and he is joined by 60 children from all over the country that took part in the space quiz. They won the opportunity to witness the soft-landing of the Vikram Lander on the moon along with the PM of India. He has also been tracking Chandrayaan's progress over the past month and wanted everyone to witness this historic moment in Indian history.

This is India's second mission to the moon, but its first attempt at a soft-landing on the moon. Between 1.30-2.30 am, 7 September, the lander Vikram is expected to make its final descent to the moon. Indian space research Organisation chairperson K Sivan has said that this will be the most "terrifying" 15 minutes in the entire mission.

If all goes well with the soft-landing, the rover Pragyan will roll out of the lander after all the systems are checked.

Chandrayaan 2 composite orbiting the moon before the lander's separation. Image: ISRO

The third part of the mission, the orbiter, with a mission life of one year, will orbit the moon and map the surface.

The lander first separated from the orbiter on 2 September. It then completed two de-orbiting manoeuvres successfully, on  3 and 4 September.

Before that, the orbiter-lander module made five orbit raising manoeuvres around Earth to save fuel while also getting closer to its final destination.

India will join the ranks of three other countries, USA, Russia, and China if the lander completes its soft-landing.

Pragyan rover

Pragyan, which means 'wisdom' in Sanskrit is the rover and the third component of the Chandrayaan 2 mission. It is a robotic vehicle that will traverse the lunar surface on six wheels that are painted in the colours of the tiranga. It is expected to travel at a speed of one centimetre per second and will hence travel a total distance of half a kilometre. There are two instruments onboard that will test the mineral and chemical compositions of the surface of the Moon along with the soil and rocks. Chandrayaan-1 found water on the Moon's surface and the rover will now try to find if the water is present on the permanently shadowed parts of the Moon.

Date and time of Chandrayaan 2 landing

Date: 7 September 2019

Time: 1:55 am IST

When & where to watch Chandrayaan 2 landing live

• on ISRO's YouTube channel, the stream will go live at 1.10 am IST on 7 September.
• on DD National's YouTube channel, the stream will go live at 1.00 am IST on 7 September. 
• a Nat Geo Chandrayaan 2 Live special starring NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger, leading up to the live landing streaming on Nat Geo/Hotstar. This special goes live at 11.30 pm IST.