Chandrayaan-2

Chandrayaan 2 is an Indian lunar mission that will boldly go where no

country has ever gone before — the Moon's south polar region. Through
this effort, the aim is to improve our understanding of the Moon —
discoveries that will benefit India and humanity as a whole. These insights
and experiences aim at a paradigm shift in how lunar expeditions are
approached for years to come — propelling further voyages into the
farthest frontiers.

Why are we going to the Moon?

The Moon is the closest cosmic body at which space discovery can be
attempted and documented. It is also a promising test bed to demonstrate
technologies required for deep-space missions. Chandrayaan 2 attempts to
foster a new age of discovery, increase our understanding of space,
stimulate the advancement of technology, promote global alliances, and
inspire a future generation of explorers and scientists.

What are the scientific objectives of

Chandrayaan 2? Why explore the Lunar
South Pole?
Moon provides the best linkage to Earth’s early history. It offers an
undisturbed historical record of the inner Solar system environment.
Though there are a few mature models, the origin of Moon still needs
further explanations. Extensive mapping of lunar surface to study variations
in lunar surface composition is essential to trace back the origin and
evolution of the Moon. Evidence for water molecules discovered by
Chandrayaan-1, requires further studies on the extent of water molecule
distribution on the surface, below the surface and in the tenuous lunar
exosphere to address the origin of water on Moon.
The lunar South Pole is especially interesting because of the lunar surface
area here that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the North
Pole. There is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently
shadowed areas around it. In addition, South Pole region has craters that
are cold traps and contain a fossil record of the early Solar System.

Chandrayaan-2 will attempt to soft land the lander -Vikram and rover-
Pragyan in a high plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N,
at a latitude of about 70° south.
What makes Chandrayaan 2 specia

Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

1st space mission to conduct a soft landing on the Moon's south polar
region

Fig.2

1st Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface with home-grown
technology

Fig.3

1st Indian mission to explore the lunar terrain with home-grown technology
 Fig. 4

4th country ever to soft land on the

lunar surface

Fig. 4

Launcher and the Spacecraft

Launcher
The GSLV Mk-III is India's most powerful launcher to date, and has been
completely designed and fabricated from within the country.

Chandrayaan 2 is on a mission unlike any before. Leveraging nearly a

decade of scientific research and engineering development, India's second
lunar expedition will shed light on a completely unexplored section of the
Moon — its South Polar region. This mission will help us gain a better
understanding of the origin and evolution of the Moon by conducting
detailed topographical studies, comprehensive mineralogical analyses, and
a host of other experiments on the lunar surface. While there, we will also
explore discoveries made by Chandrayaan 1, such as the presence of
water molecules on the Moon and new rock types with unique chemical
composition. Through this mission, we aim to:

Expand India's footprint in Inspire a future generation of Surpass international

space scientists, engineers, and aspirations
explorers
Chandrayaan - 2 launch scheduled on 15th July, 2019 at 2:51hrs was
called off due to a technical snag noticed at around one hour before launch.
The launch is now rescheduled on July 22, 2019 at 14:43 hrs IST from
Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota on-board GSLV Mk-III. It will
be injected into an earth parking 170 x 39120 km orbit. A series of
maneuvers will be carried out to raise its orbit and put Chandrayaan-2 on
Lunar Transfer Trajectory. On entering Moon's sphere of influence, on-
board thrusters will slow down the spacecraft for Lunar Capture. The Orbit
of Chandrayaan-2 around the moon will be circularized to 100x100 km orbit
through a series of orbital maneuvers. On the day of landing, the lander will
separate from the Orbiter and then perform a series of complex maneuvers
comprising of rough braking and fine braking. Imaging of the landing site
region prior to landing will be done for finding safe and hazard-free zones.
The lander-Vikram will finally land near South Pole of the moon on Sep 7,
2019. Subsequently, Rover will roll out and carry out experiments on Lunar
surface for a period of 1 Lunar day which is equal to 14 Earth days. Orbiter
will continue its mission for a duration of one year.

Science experiments
Chandrayaan-2 has several science payloads to expand the lunar scientific
knowledge through detailed study of topography, seismography, mineral
identification and distribution, surface chemical composition, thermo-physical
characteristics of top soil and composition of the tenuous lunar atmosphere,
leading to a new understanding of the origin and evolution of the Moon.
The Orbiter payloads will conduct remote-sensing observations from a 100
km orbit while the Lander and Rover payloads will perform in-situ
measurements near the landing site.

For understanding of the Lunar composition, it is planned to identify the

elements and mapping its distribution on the lunar surface both at global
and In-situ level. In addition detailed 3 dimensional mapping of the lunar
regolith will be done. Measurements on the near surface plasma
environment and electron density in the Lunar ionosphere will be studied.
Thermo-physical property of the lunar surface and seismic activities will
also be measured. Water molecule distribution will be studied using infra
red spectroscopy, synthetic aperture radiometry & polarimetry as well as
mass spectroscopy techniques.

Key payloads
Chandrayaan 2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer
Elemental composition of the Moon
Imaging IR Spectrometer
Mineralogy mapping and water-ice confirmation
Synthetic Aperture Radar L & S Band
Polar-region mapping and sub-surface water-ice confirmation
Orbiter High Resolution Camera
High-resolution topography mapping
Chandra's Surface Thermo-physical Experiment
Thermal conductivity and temperature gradient
Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer and Laser Induced Breakdown
Spectroscope
In-situ elemental analysis and abundance in the vicinity of landing site

Orbiter payloads

Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC 2)

TMC 2 is a miniature version of the Terrain Mapping Camera used onboard the
Chandrayaan 1 mission. Its primary objective is mapping the lunar surface in the
panchromatic spectral band (0.5-0.8 microns) with a high spatial resolution of 5 m and a
swath of 20 km from 100 km lunar polar orbit. The data collected by TMC 2 will give us
clues about the Moon's evolution and help us prepare 3D maps of the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan 2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer

(CLASS)
CLASS measures the Moon's X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectra to examine the
presence of major elements such as Magnesium, Aluminium, Silicon, Calcium,
Titanium, Iron, and Sodium. The XRF technique will detect these elements by
measuring the characteristic X-rays they emit when excited by the Sun's rays

Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM)

XSM observes the X-rays emitted by the Sun and its corona, measures the intensity of
solar radiation in these rays, and supports CLASS. The primary objective of this payload
is to provide solar X-ray spectrum in the energy range of 1-15 keV. XSM will provide
high-energy resolution and high-cadence measurements (full spectrum every second) of
solar X-ray spectra as input for analysis of data from CLASS.
.
, Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC)
OHRC provides high-resolution images of the landing site — ensuring the
Lander's safe touchdown by detecting any craters or boulders prior to separation.
The images it captures
taken from two different look angles, serve dual purposes. Firstly, they are used to
generate DEMs (Digital Elevation Models) of the landing site. Secondly, they are used
for scientific research, post-lander separation. OHRC's images will be captured over the
course of two orbits, covering an area of 12 km x 3 km with a ground resolution of 0.32
m.

Imaging IR Spectrometer (IIRS)

IIRS has two primary objectives:

 Global mineralogical and volatile mapping of the Moon in the spectral range of ~0.8-
5.0 µm for the first time, at the high resolution of ~20 nm
Complete characterisation of water/hydroxyl feature near 3.0 µm for the first time
at high spatial (~80 m) and spectral (~20 nm) resolutions
IIRS will also measure the solar radiation reflected off the Moon's surface in 256
contiguous spectral bands from 100 km lunar orbit.

Dual Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR)

The dual frequency (L and S) SAR will provide enhanced capabilities compared to
Chandrayaan 1's S-band miniSAR in areas such as:

 L-band for greater depth of penetration (About 5m — twice that of S-band)

 Circular and full polarimetry — with a range of resolution options (2-75 m) and
incident angles (9°-35°) — for understanding scattering properties of permanently
shadowed regions

The main scientific objectives of this payload are:

 High-resolution lunar mapping in the polar regions

 Quantitative estimation of water-ice in the polar regions
 Estimation of regolith thickness and its distribution
 Chandrayaan 2 Atmospheric Compositional Explorer 2
(CHACE 2)
CHACE 2 will continue the CHACE experiment carried out by Chandrayaan 1. It is a
Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (QMA) capable of scanning the lunar neutral
exosphere in the mass range of 1 to 300 amu with the mass resolution of ~0.5 amu.
CHACE 2's primary objective is to carry out an in-situ study of the composition and
distribution of the lunar neutral exosphere and its variability.

Dual Frequency Radio Science (DFRS) experiment

To study the temporal evolution of electron density in the Lunar ionosphere. Two
coherent signals at X (8496 MHz), and S (2240 MHz) band are transmitted
simultaneously from satellite, and received at ground based deep station network
receivers.

Vikram payloads

Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive

ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA)
The lunar ionosphere is a highly dynamic plasma environment. Langmuir probes, such
as RAMBHA, have proven to be an effective diagnostic tool to gain information in such
conditions. Its primary objective is to measure factors such as:

 Ambient electron density/temperature near the lunar surface

 Temporal evolution of lunar plasma density for the first time near the surface under
varying solar conditions

Chandra's Surface Thermo-physical Experiment (ChaSTE)

ChaSTE measures the vertical temperature gradient and thermal conductivity of the
lunar surface. It consists of a thermal probe (sensors and a heater) that is inserted into
the lunar regolith down to a depth of ~10 cm. ChaSTE operates in two modes:
 Passive mode operation in which continuous in-situ measurements of temperature at
different depths are carried out
 Active mode operation in which temperature variations in a set period of time, and
the regolith's thermal conductivity under contact, are estimated

Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA))

ILSA is a triple axis, MEMS-based seismometer that can detect minute ground
displacement, velocity, or acceleration caused by lunar quakes. Its primary objective is
to characterise the seismicity around the landing site. ILSA has been designed to
identify acceleration as low as 100 ng /√Hz with a dynamic range of ±0.5 g and a
bandwidth of 40 Hz. The dynamic range is met by using two sensors — a coarse-range
sensor and a fine-range sensor.

Pragyaan payloads

Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS)

APXS' primary objective is to determine the elemental composition of the Moon's
surface near the landing site. It achieves this through X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy
technique, where X-ray or alpha particles are used to excite the surface. APXS uses
radioactive Curium (244) metal that emits high-energy, alpha particles — as well as X-
rays — enabling both X-ray emission spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence
spectroscopy. Through these techniques, APXS can detect all major rock-forming
elements such as Sodium, Magnesium, Aluminium, Silica, Calcium, Titanium, Iron, and
some trace elements such as Strontium, Yttrium and Zirconium.

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS)

LIBS' prime objective is to identify and determine the abundance of elements near the
landing site. It does this by firing high-powered laser pulses at various locations and
analysing the radiation emitted by the decaying plasma.

Passive Experiment
Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA)
To understand the dynamics of Earth's Moon system and also derive clues on the Lunar
interior.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III

(GSLV Mk-III)
The GSLV Mk-III will carry Chandrayaan 2 to its designated orbit. This
three-stage vehicle is India's most powerful launcher to date, and is
capable of launching 4-ton class of satellites to the Geosynchronous
Transfer Orbit (GTO).

Its components are:

S200 solid rocket boosters

L110 liquid stage

C25 upper stage

Orbiter
The Orbiter will observe the lunar surface and relay
communication between Earth and Chandrayaan 2's Lander
— Vikram.

Weight
2,379 kg
Electric Power Generation Capability
1,000 W
At the time of launch, the Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter will be capable of communicating with
Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu as well as the Vikram Lander. The
mission life of the Orbiter is one year and it will be placed in a 100X100 km lunar polar
orbit.

Lander — Vikram
Weight
1,471 kg
Electric Power Generation Capability
650 W

The Lander of Chandrayaan 2 is named Vikram after Dr

Vikram A Sarabhai, the Father of the Indian Space
Programme. It is designed to function for one lunar day,
which is equivalent to about 14 Earth days. Vikram has the
capability to communicate with IDSN at Byalalu near
Bangalore, as well as with the Orbiter and Rover. The
Lander is designed to execute a soft landing on the lunar
surface.

Rover — Pragyan
Weight
27 kg
Electric Power Generation Capability
50 W

Chandrayaan 2's Rover is a 6-wheeled robotic vehicle

named Pragyan, which translates to 'wisdom' in Sanskrit. It
can travel up to 500 m (½-a-km) and leverages solar energy
for its functioning. It can only communicate with the Lander.