Perfect launch for Chandrayaan -2

  1. Chandrayaan-2 was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
  2. Chandrayaan 2 is India’s second lunar mission and 1st Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface with indigenous technology. If successful, India will be the 4th country ever to soft land on the lunar surface- after USA, Russia and China.
  3. It seeks to land on the lunar south pole- unexplored by any nation before. The lunar South Pole is especially interesting because a larger section of its surface stays in the shadow than the North Pole.
  4. There is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it. Also, the South Polar Region has craters that are cold traps, containing a fossilised record of the early Solar System.
  5. Chandrayaan 2 will use the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover to attempt a soft landing in a high plain between two craters — Manzinus C and Simpelius N.
  6. Chandrayaan-2 will carry out extensive three-dimensional mapping of the topography of the lunar South Pole region. It will also determine its elemental composition and seismic activity.
  7. The mission would also try to assess the abundance and distribution of water on the lunar surface.