Chandrayaan-2 mission

Chandrayaan-2

Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the mission was launched from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 22 July 2019 at 2.43 PM IST (09:13 UTC) to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III).The planned orbit has a perigee of 170 km and an apogee of 45475 km. It consists of a lunar orbiter, a lander named Vikram and a lunar rover named Pragyan, all developed in India.The main scientific objective is to map the location and abundance of lunar water.

The lander and the rover will land on the near side of the Moon, in the south polar region at a latitude of about 70° south on 7 September 2019. The wheeled Pragyan rover will move on the lunar surface and will perform on-site chemical analysis for a period of 14 days (one lunar day). It can relay data to Earth through the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and lander, which were launched together on the same rocket. The orbiter will perform its mission for one year in a circularized lunar polar orbit of 100 × 100 km.

Launch of Chandrayaan-2 was originally scheduled for 15 July 2019 at 2:51 IST (14 July 2019 21:21 UTC) but was called off due to a technical snag noticed while filling the cryogenic engine of the rocket with helium  about one hour before launch. The countdown was frozen at 56 minutes, 24 seconds before. It was launched on 22 July 2019 14:43 IST (09:13 UTC) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.

A successful landing would make India the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, after the space agencies of the USSR, the USA and China. If successful, Chandrayaan-2 will be the southernmost lunar landing, aiming to land at 67°S or 70°S latitude.

(source from Google)

Objectives

The primary objectives of Chandrayaan-2 are to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface. Scientific goals include studies of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures of hydroxl and water ice.The orbiter will map the lunar surface and help to prepare 3D maps of it. The onboard radar will also map the surface while studying the water ice in the south polar region and thickness of the lunar regolith on the surface.

Design

The mission was launched on a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III  (GSLV Mk III) with an approximate lift-off mass of 3,850 kg (8,490 lb) from  Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island. As of June 2019, the mission has an allocated cost of ₹978 crore (approximately US$141 million) which includes ₹603 crore for space segment and ₹375 crore as launch costs on GSLV Mk III. Chandrayaan-2 stack was initially put in an Earth parking orbit of 170 km perigree and 40,400 km apogee by the launch vehicle. It is currently performing orbit-raising operations followed by trans lunar injection using its own power.

Orbiter 

(source from Google)

The orbiter will orbit the Moon at an altitude of 100 km (62 mi).The orbiter carries five scientific instruments. Three of them are new, while two others are improved versions of those flown on Chandrayaan-1. The approximate launch mass was 2,379 kg (5,245 lb). The Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) will conduct high-resolution observations of the landing site prior to separation of the lander from the orbiter. The orbiter's structure was manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and delivered to ISRO Satellite Centre on 22 June 2015.

Vikram lander

named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919–1971), who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme.

The Vikram lander will detach from the orbiter and descend to a low lunar orbit of 30 km × 100 km (19 mi × 62 mi) using its 800 N (180 lb_f) liquid main engines. It will then perform a comprehensive check of all its on-board systems before attempting a soft landing, deploy the rover, and perform scientific activities for approximately 14 days. The approximate combined mass of the lander and rover is 1,471 kg (3,243 lb).

(source from Google)

Pragyan rover

(source from Google)

• Will operate on solar power. The rover will move on 6 wheels traversing 500 meters on the lunar surface at the rate of 1 cm per second, performing on-site chemical analysis and sending the data to the lander, which will relay it to the Earth station. 
• Stereoscopic camera-based 3D vision: two 1 megapixel, monochromatic NAVCAMs in front of the rover will provide the ground control team a 3D view of the surrounding terrain, and help in path-planning by generating a digital elevation model of the terrain. IIT Kanpur contributed to the development of the subsystems for light-based map generation and motion planning for the rover.
• Control and motor dynamics: the rover has a rocker-bogie suspension system and six wheels, each driven by independent brushless DC electric motors. Steering is accomplished by differential speed of the wheels or skid steering.