Chandrayaan-2 mission to carry seven payloads
31 Aug 2010
Bangalore: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday announced the payloads that will be carried by Chandrayaan-2, India's second unmanned moon mission. The mission is currently targeted for a 2013 launch.
The Chandrayaan-2 mission will carry seven onboard instruments for a range of lunar experiments. "Inclusion of additional payloads, if possible within the mission constraints, will be considered at a later date following a detailed review", ISRO said in a statement.
The Chandrayaan-2 will be a more sophisticated mission than its predecessor, the Chandrayaan-1 (CY-1), which was primarily an orbiter. It did send down an 'impact probe' however, which was designed to send out limited data before it crashed on the surface of the moon.
The Chandrayaan-2 lunar spacecraft will carry a lunar orbiter (satellite), a lander and a rover and will be launched in 2013 onboard ISRO's heaviest rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
The lunar lander will be provided by Russia while the orbiter and the lunar rover will be built by ISRO. The rover will exit the lander to conduct experiments on the lunar surface.
The Chandrayaan-2 will weigh about 2,650 kg at lift-off. While the orbiter will weigh about 1,400 kg, the lander along with the rover will weigh about 1,250 kg.
