Chandrayaan 2 launch date declared

Chandrayaan 2 launch date declared

Question: The date announced for the launch of India`s second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 is?
(a) 15th June, 2019
(b) 30th June, 2019
(c) 15th July, 2019
(d) 30th July, 2019
Answer: (c)
Related facts:

  • On 12th June, 2019, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan announced that Chandrayaan-2, India’s second Moon mission will be launched on 15th July, 2019.
  • It will be launched by GSLV MkIII-M1 from Sriharikota.
  • The soft landing of the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-2 on the Moon’s surface is likely to be on 6th September, 2019.
  • The most challenging task in the mission is of the soft landing on Moon`s surface. The soft-landing of lander on the Moon would be at a predetermined site.
  • Gaganyaan 2 includes a lander and a rover for the first time in an Indian space mission.
  • The spacecraft weighs 3.8 tonnes and consists of an orbiter, the Lander (Vikram) and the Rover (Pragyan).
  • The mission costs ₹603 crore for the spacecraft system and the launcher, a GSLV-MKIII costs ₹375 crore.
  • Tricolor will be painted on the lander and the rover while the wheels of rover will be imprinted with the Ashoka Chakra.
  • Different scientific experiments will be done by instruments on the lander and the rover.
  • GSLV MK-III will accommodate the orbiter and the lander as an integrated module. The rover would be kept inside the lander.
  • After the launch into an earth-bound orbit by GSLV MK-III, the integrated module would reach the Moon orbit using the orbiter propulsion module, and subsequently, the lander would separate from the orbiter and soft-land at the predetermined site, close to the lunar South Pole.

Links:
https://www.isro.gov.in/update/12-jun-2019/press-meet-briefing-dr-k-sivan-chairman-isro
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/chandrayaan-2-mission-launch-on-july-15-isro/article27859704.ece
https://www.livemint.com/news/india/chandrayaan-2-to-be-launched-on-15-july-isro-1560332378540.html