Chandrayaan-2 (candra-yāna, transl.

 "mooncraft";[15][16] pronunciation (help·info)) is the second lunar

exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO),[17][18] after Chandrayaan-1.[19][20] It consists of a lunar orbiter, the Vikram lander,
and the Pragyan lunar rover, all of which were developed in India.[21] The main scientific objective is
to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance
of lunar water.[22][23]
The mission was launched on its course to the Moon from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan
Space Centre on 22 July 2019 at 2.43 PM IST (09:13 UTC) by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III).[9][10][24] The craft reached the Moon's orbit on 20 August 2019 and
began orbital positioning manoeuvres for the landing of the Vikram lander.[25] Vikram and the rover
were scheduled to land on the near side of the Moon, in the south polar region[26] at a latitude of
about 70° south at approximately 20:23 UTC on 6 September 2019 and conduct scientific
experiments for one lunar day, which approximates two Earth weeks.
However, the lander deviated from its intended trajectory starting at 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi)
altitude,[27] and had lost communication when touchdown confirmation was expected.[28][29] Initial
reports suggesting a crash[30][31] have been confirmed by ISRO chairman K. Sivan, stating that the
lander location had been found, and "it must have been a hard landing".[32]
As of 8 September 2019, on-going efforts are being made by ISRO in hopes of restoring
communications with Vikram. Communication attempts will likely cease on 21 September 2019,
fourteen days after Vikram's landing attempt. The orbiter, part of the mission with eight scientific
instruments, remains operational and is expected to continue its seven-year mission to study the
Moon.

Contents

 1History
 2Objectives
 3Design
o 3.1Orbiter
o 3.2Vikram lander
o 3.3Pragyan rover
 4Payload
o 4.1Orbiter
o 4.2Vikram lander
o 4.3Pragyan rover
 5Mission profile
o 5.1Launch
o 5.2Geocentric phase
o 5.3Selenocentric phase
o 5.4Planned landing site
o 5.5Hard landing
o 5.6Status
 6Team
 7See also
 8References
 9External links
History
On 12 November 2007, representatives of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and
ISRO signed an agreement for the two agencies to work together on the Chandrayaan-2
project.[33] ISRO would have the prime responsibility for the orbiter and rover, while Roscosmos was
to provide the lander. The Indian government approved the mission in a meeting of the Union
Cabinet, held on 18 September 2008 and chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.[34] The design
of the spacecraft was completed in August 2009, with scientists of both countries conducting a joint
review.[35][36]
Although ISRO finalised the payload for Chandrayaan-2 per schedule,[37] the mission was postponed
in January 2013[38] and rescheduled to 2016 because Russia was unable to develop the lander on
time.[39][40] Roscosmos later withdrew in wake of the failure of the Fobos-Grunt mission to Mars, since
the technical aspects connected with the Fobos-Grunt mission were also used in the lunar projects,
which needed to be reviewed.[39] When Russia cited its inability to provide the lander even by 2015,
India decided to develop the lunar mission independently.[38][41]
The spacecraft's launch had been scheduled for March 2018, but was first delayed to April and then
to October to conduct further tests on the vehicle.[42][43] On 19 June 2018, after the program's fourth
Comprehensive Technical Review meeting, a number of changes in configuration and landing
sequence were planned for implementation, pushing the launch to the first half of 2019.[44] Two of the
lander's legs got minor damage during one of the tests in February 2019.[45]
Chandrayaan-2 launch was initially scheduled for 14 July 2019, 21:21 UTC (15 July 2019 at 02:51
IST local time), with the landing expected on 6 September 2019.[20] However, the launch was aborted
due to a technical glitch and was rescheduled.[46][8][47] The launch occurred on 22 July 2019 at 09:13
UTC (14:43 IST) on the first operational flight of a GSLV MK III M1.[48]

Objectives
The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-2 lander were to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on
the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface. Scientific goals include orbital studies
of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures
of hydroxyl and water ice.[49] 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.[50]

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.[3][13][10][51] 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.[52][53] Chandrayaan-2 stack was initially put in an
Earth parking orbit of 170 km perigee and 40,400 km apogee by the launch vehicle.[54]

Orbiter
Chandrayaan-2 orbiter at integration facility

As of September 2019, the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is orbiting the Moon on a polar orbit at an altitude
of 100 km (62 mi).[55] The orbiter carries eight scientific instruments; two of them are improved
versions of those flown on Chandrayaan-1. The approximate launch mass was 2,379 kg
(5,245 lb).[4][5][37][56] The Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) will conduct high-resolution
observations of the landing site prior to separation of the lander from the orbiter.[55][2] The orbiter's
structure was manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and delivered to ISRO Satellite
Centre on 22 June 2015.[57][58]

 Dimensions: 3.2 × 5.8 × 2.2 m[23]

 Gross lift-off mass: 2,379 kg (5,245 lb)[3]
 Propellant mass: 1,697 kg (3,741 lb)[6]
 Dry mass: 682 kg (1,504 lb)[6]
 Power generation capacity: 1000 W [23]
 Mission duration: approximately 7.5 years, extended from the planned 1 year owing to the
precise launch and mission management, in lunar orbit.[1][59]
Vikram lander

Rover Pragyan mounted on the ramp of Vikram lander

Images of the Earth captured by Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander camera LI4[60]

The mission's lander is called Vikram (Sanskrit: विक्रम, lit. 'Valour[61]') Pronunciation (help·info) named
after Vikram Sarabhai (1919–1971), who is widely regarded as the founder of the Indian space
programme.[62]
The Vikram lander detached from the orbiter and descended to a low lunar orbit of 30 km × 100 km
(19 mi × 62 mi) using its 800 N (180 lbf) liquid main engines. It then performed a comprehensive
check of all its on-board systems before attempting a soft landing that would have deployed the
rover, and perform scientific activities for approximately 14 Earth days. Vikram spacecraft
apparently crash-landed.[30][1] The lander's location has been spotted on the surface via thermal
imaging, but its condition is unknown.[32] The approximate combined mass of the lander and rover is
1,471 kg (3,243 lb).[4][5]
The preliminary configuration study of the lander was completed in 2013 by the Space Applications
Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad.[38] The lander's propulsion system consists of eight 50 N (11 lbf)
thrusters for attitude control and five 800 N (180 lbf) liquid main engines derived from ISRO's 440 N
(99 lbf) Liquid Apogee Motor.[63][64] Initially, the lander design employed four main liquid engines, but a
centrally mounted engine was added to handle new requirements of having to orbit the Moon before
landing. The additional engine was expected to mitigate upward draft of lunar dust during the soft
landing.[51] Vikram was designed to safely land on slopes up to 12°.[65][66]
Some associated technologies include a high resolution camera, Laser Altimeter (LASA),[67] Lander
Hazard Detection Avoidance Camera (LHDAC), Lander Position Detection Camera
(LPDC),[68] Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera (LHVC), an 800 N throttleable liquid main
engine,[57] attitude thrusters, Ka band radio altimeters (KaRA),[69][70] Laser Inertial Reference &
Accelerometer Package (LIRAP),[71] and the software needed to run these
components.[2][55] Engineering models of the lander began undergoing ground and aerial tests in late
October 2016, in Challakere in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka. ISRO created roughly 10
craters on the surface to help assess the ability of the lander's sensors to select a landing site.[72]

 Dimensions: 2.54 × 2 × 1.2 m[23]

 Gross lift-off mass: 1,471 kg (3,243 lb)[3]
 Propellant mass: 845 kg (1,863 lb)[6]
 Dry mass: 626 kg (1,380 lb)[6]
 Power generation capability: 650 W
 Mission duration: ≤14 days (one lunar day)[2]
Pragyan rover
Main article: Pragyan (rover)

Pragyan rover of the Chandrayaan-2 mission

The mission's rover is called Pragyan (Sanskrit: प्रज्ञान, lit. 'Wisdom[73][74]')

Pronunciation (help·info))[75][73] with a mass of 27 kg (60 lb), would have operated on solar
power.[4][5] The rover was to move on 6 wheels traversing 500 meters on the lunar surface at the rate
of 1 cm per second, perform on-site analyses and send the data to the lander, which would have
relayed it to the Mission Control on the Earth.[76][77][37][56][52] For navigation, the rover uses:

 Stereoscopic camera-based 3D vision: two 1 megapixel, monochromatic NAVCAMs in front of

the rover to 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.[78] IIT Kanpur contributed to
the development of the subsystems for light-based map generation and motion planning for the
rover.[79]
 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.[80]
The expected operating time of Pragyan rover was one lunar day, or around 14 Earth days, as its
electronics were not designed to endure the frigid lunar night. However, its power system has a
solar-powered sleep/wake-up cycle implemented, which could have resulted in longer service time
than planned.[81][82] Two aft wheels of the rover have the ISRO logo and the State Emblem of
India embossed on them to leave behind patterned tracks on the lunar surface,[83][84] which is used to
measure the exact distance travelled, also called visual odometry.[citation needed]

 Dimensions: 0.9 × 0.75 × 0.85 m[23]

 Power: 50 W [23]
 Travel speed: 1 cm/sec.[23]
 Mission duration: ≤14 days (one lunar day)

Payload

Mission overview

ISRO selected eight scientific instruments for the orbiter, four for the lander,[85][3][86] and two for the
rover.[37] While it was initially reported that NASA and ESA would participate in the mission by
providing some scientific instruments for the orbiter,[87] ISRO in 2010 had clarified that due to weight
restrictions it will not be carrying foreign payloads on this mission.[88] However, in an update just a
month before launch,[89] an agreement between NASA and ISRO was signed to include a small
laser retroreflector from NASA to the lander's payload to measure the distance between the satellites
above and the microreflector on the lunar surface.[90][91]

Orbiter
Payloads on the orbiter are:[3][86][1]
 Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) from ISRO Satellite
Centre (ISAC), makes use of X-ray fluorescence spectra to determine the elemental composition
of the lunar surface.
 Solar X-ray monitor (XSM) from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad for mapping
major elements present on the lunar surface.[37]
 Dual Frequency L and S band Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR) from Space Applications
Centre (SAC) for probing the first few meters of the lunar surface for the presence of different
constituents, including water ice. DFSAR is expected to provide further evidence confirming the
presence of water ice, and its distribution below the shadowed regions of the Moon.[37] It has
lunar surface penetration depth of 5 meters (L-band).[59][86]
 Imaging IR Spectrometer (IIRS) from Space Applications Centre (SAC) for mapping of lunar
surface over a wide wavelength range for the study of minerals, water molecules
and hydroxyl present.[37] It works up to 5 microns, an improvement over previous lunar missions
whose payloads worked up to 3 microns.[59]
 Chandrayaan-2 Atmospheric Compositional Explorer 2 (ChACE-2) Quadrupole Mass
Analyzer from Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) to carry out a detailed study of the lunar
exosphere.[37]
 Terrain Mapping Camera-2 (TMC-2) from Space Applications Centre (SAC) for preparing a
three-dimensional map essential for studying the lunar mineralogy and geology.[37]
 Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere and Atmosphere – Dual Frequency
Radio Science experiment (RAMBHA-DFRS) by SPL for the studying electron density in the
Lunar ionosphere.
 Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) by SAC for scouting a hazard-free spot prior to
landing. It will later help prepare high-resolution topographic maps and digital elevation
models of the lunar surface. OHRC has spatial resolution of 0.3 m from 100 km polar orbit.[86]
Vikram lander
The payloads on the Vikram lander are:[3][86]

 Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) MEMS based Seismometer by LEOS for studying
Moon-quakes near the landing site[85][13][92]
 Chandra's Surface Thermo-physical Experiment (ChaSTE) Thermal probe for estimating the
thermal properties of the lunar surface[13]
 RAMBHA-LP Langmuir probe for measuring the density and variation of lunar
surface plasma.[85][13]
 A laser retroreflector array (LRA) by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for taking precise
measurements of distance between the reflector on the lunar surface and satellites in lunar
orbit.[93][89][90] The micro-reflector weighs about 22 grams and can not be used for taking
observations from Earth-based lunar laser stations.[90]
Pragyan rover
Pragyan rover carries two instruments to determine the abundance of elements near the landing
site:[3][86]

 Laser induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) from Laboratory for Electro Optic Systems
(LEOS), Bangalore.[37]
 Alpha Particle Induced X-ray Spectroscope (APXS) from PRL, Ahmedabad.
 CHACE2

XSM

CLASS

ILSA MEMS sensor package

Laser retroreflector array (LRA)

LIBS

APXS
 ChaSTE

Mission profile
Animation of Chandrayaan-2

Geocentric phase

Selenocentric phase

Lunar landing phase

Overall motion of Chandrayaan-2
Earth · Moon · Chandrayaan-2

Timeline of operations [94][95]

Result

Referen
Phase Date Event Detail Apogee Perigee ces
/ /
Aposele Perisel
ne ene

22 July 45,475 k 169.7 k

2019 Burn time: 16 m m
Launch [48]
09:13:1 min 14 sec (28,257 (105.4
2 UTC mi) mi)

24 July 45,163 k
230 km
2019 1st orbit-raising Burn time: 48 m [96]
(140 mi
09:22 maneuver sec (28,063
)
UTC mi)
Geocentric ph
ase
25 July 54,829 k
251 km
2019 2nd orbit-raising Burn time: 883 m
(156 mi [97]
19:38 maneuver sec (34,069
)
UTC mi)

276 km
3rd orbit-raising Burn time: 989
29 July 71,792 k (171.5 [98]
maneuver sec
2019 m mi)
 09:42 (44,609
UTC mi)

2
89,472 k
August 277 km
4th orbit-raising Burn time: 646 m
2019 (172 mi [99]
maneuver sec (55,595
09:57 )
mi)
UTC

6
142,975
August 276 km
5th orbit-raising Burn time: 1041 km
2019 (171 mi [100]
maneuver sec (88,841
09:34 )
mi)
UTC

13
August
Trans-lunar Burn time: 1203
2019 — — [101]
injection sec
20:51
UTC

20
Lunar orbit 18,072 k
August
insertion Burn time: 1738 m 114 km
2019 [102]
1st lunar bound sec (11,229 (71 mi)
03:32
maneuver mi)
UTC

21
4,412 k
August
2nd lunar bound Burn time: 1228 m 118 km
2019 [103]
maneuver sec (2,741 (73 mi)
07:20
Selenocentric mi)
UTC
phase

28
August 1,412 k 179 km
3rd lunar bound Burn time: 1190 [104]
2019 m (111 mi
maneuver sec
03:34 (877 mi) )
UTC

30 4th lunar bound Burn time: 1155 164 km 124 km [105]

August maneuver sec (102 mi) (77 mi)
2019
 12:48
UTC

1
Septem
ber 5th lunar bound Burn time: 52 127 km 119 km [106]
2019 maneuver sec (79 mi) (74 mi)
12:51
UTC

2
Septem
ber 127 km 119 km
Vikram separation — [107]
2019 (79 mi) (74 mi)
7:45
UTC

3
Septem
ber 128 km 104 km
1st deorbit burn Burn time: 4 sec [108]
2019 (80 mi) (65 mi)
3:20
UTC

3
Vikram lunar Septem
landing ber 101 km 35 km
2nd deorbit burn Burn time: 9 sec [109]
2019 (63 mi) (22 mi)
22:12
UTC

6
Septem
ber
Powered descent
2019
20:08
UTC

Trajectory
6
deviation started
Septem Vikram landing
at 2.1 km
ber
altitude, telemet
2019
ry was lost
 20:23 seconds before
UTC touchdown.[28]

7
Septem
ber
2019
00:00 Pragyan rover depl
— — — [110][111]
UTC- oyment
01:00
UTC
(planne
d)

Chandrayaan-2 lifting off on 22 July 2019

Launch
Chandrayaan-2 launch was initially scheduled for 14 July 2019, 21:21 UTC (15 July 2019 at 02:51
IST local time).[20] However, the launch was aborted 56 minutes and 24 seconds before launch due to
a technical glitch, so it was rescheduled to 22 July 2019.[46][8] Unconfirmed reports later cited a leak in
the nipple joint of a helium gas bottle as the cause of cancellation.[47][112][113]
Finally Chandrayaan-2 was launched on-board the GSLV MK III M1 launch vehicle on 22 July 2019
at 09:13 UTC (14:43 IST) with better-than-expected apogee as a result of the cryogenic upper stage
being burned to depletion, which later eliminated the need for one of the apogee-raising burns during
the geocentric phase of mission.[48][114][115] This also resulted in the saving of around 40 kg fuel
onboard the spacecraft.[116]
Immediately after launch, multiple observations of a slow-moving bright object over Australia were
made, which could be related to upper stage venting of residual LOX/LH2 propellant after the main
burn.[117][118]

Geocentric phase
Chandrayaan-2 trajectory

After being placed into a 45,475 × 169 km parking orbit by the launch vehicle,[48] the Chandrayaan-2
spacecraft stack gradually raised its orbit using on-board propulsion over 22 days. In this phase, one
perigee-raising and five apogee-raising burns were performed to reach a highly eccentric orbit of
142,975 × 276 km[100] followed by trans-lunar injection on 13 August 2019.[101] Such long Earth-bound
phase with multiple orbit-raising manoeuvres exploiting the Oberth effect was required because of
the limited lifting capacity of the launch vehicle and thrust of the spacecraft's on-board propulsion
system. A similar strategy was used for Chandrayaan-1 and the Mars Orbiter Mission during their
Earth-bound phase trajectory.[119] On 3 August 2019, the first set of Earth images were captured by
the LI4 camera on the Vikram lander, showing North American landmass.[60]

Selenocentric phase
After 29 days from its launch, the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft stack entered lunar orbit on 20 August
2019 after performing a lunar orbit insertion burn for 28 minutes 57 seconds. The three-spacecraft
stack was placed into an elliptical orbit that passes over the polar regions of the Moon, with
18,072 km (11,229 mi) aposelene and 114 km (71 mi) periselene.[102] By 1 September 2019 this
elliptical orbit was made nearly circular with 127 km (79 mi) aposelene and 119 km (74 mi)
periselene after four orbit-lowering maneuvers[103][104][105][106] followed by separation of Vikram lander
from the orbiter on 7:45 UTC, 2 September 2019.[107]

Planned landing site

Main article: Pragyan (rover)
Landing site [120] Coordinates

Prime landing site 70.90267°S 22.78110°E

Alternate landing site 67.87406°S 18.46947°W

Two landing sites were selected, each with a landing ellipse of 32 × 11 km.[120] The prime landing site
(PLS54) is at 70.90267 S 22.78110 E (~350 km north of the South Pole-Aitken Basin rim[26][120]), and
the alternate landing site (ALS01) is at 67.874064 S 18.46947 W. The prime site is on a high plain
between the craters Manzinus C and Simpelius N,[121][26] on the near side of the Moon.

Hard landing
Vikram began its descent at 20:08:03 UTC, 6 September 2019 and was scheduled to land on the
Moon at around 20:23 UTC. The descent and soft-landing were to be done by the on-board
computers on Vikram, with mission control unable to make corrections.[122]
The initial descent was considered within mission parameters, passing critical braking procedures as
expected, but the lander's trajectory began to deviate at about 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi; 6,900 ft) above
the surface.[123][124] The final telemetry readings during ISRO's live-stream show that Vikram's final
vertical velocity was 58 m/s (210 km/h) at 330 meters above the surface which, according to the
MIT Technology Review, is "quite fast for a lunar landing."[28] Initial reports suggesting a
crash[30][31] were confirmed by ISRO chairman K. Sivan, stating that the lander location was found and
that "it must have been a hard landing".[32][125][126]
Radio transmissions from the lander were tracked during descent by analysts using a 25-meter radio
telescope owned by the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. Analysis of the doppler
data suggests that the loss of signal coincided with the lander impacting the lunar surface at a
velocity of nearly 50 metres (160 ft) per second (as opposed to an ideal 2 metres (6.6 ft) per second
touchdown velocity).[3][127]
Powered descent was also observed by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter using its Lyman-Alpha
Mapping Project (LAMP) instrument to study changes in lunar exosphere due to exhaust from
lander's engines.[128]

Status
The mission's orbiter used thermal imaging to locate the lander.[129] Unconfirmed reports, citing an
ISRO official, stated that the lander was intact,[130] but there has been no official announcement by
ISRO on the lander's physical condition.[32][131] ISRO's Chairman, K. Sivan, tasked senior scientist P.
S. Goel to head the Failure Analysis Committee to look into the causes of the failure.[132] As of 8
September 2019, ongoing efforts are being made by ISRO in hopes to restore communications
with Vikram,[133] while NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is scheduled to fly over and
acquire optical images for ISRO on 17 September 2019.[134][135]
The orbiter part of the mission, with eight scientific instruments, remains operational, and will
continue its seven-year mission to study the Moon.[124]

Team
A view of Mission Operations Complex (MOX-1), ISTRAC[136] prior to the fourth Earth-bound burn.[99]

Key scientists and engineers involved in the development of Chandrayaan-2 include:[137][138][139]

 Ritu Karidhal – Mission Director

 Muthayya Vanitha – Project Director
 K. Kalpana – Associate Project Director[140]
 G. Narayanan – Associate Project Director[141]
 G. Nagesh – Project Director (former)[142]
 Chandrakanta Kumar – Deputy Project Director (Radio frequency systems)
 Amitabh Singh – Deputy Project Director (Optical Payload Data Processing, SAC)[143]