With the Chadrayaaan-2 Mission getting off to a flying start, India has good reasons to be optimistic about its lunar plans
Success is all the sweeter when it follows the bitter taste of failure. Expectations were soaring beyond sky-high on the eve of the July 15 launch of Chadrayaaan-2, India’s ambitious Rs 978-crore moon-landing mission. The success of this mission would make India not only the fourth country in the world – after United States, Russia and China – to land and ride on the moon, but also the first one ever to explore the South Pole of its closest celestial neighbour. With so much history to be made, this was a big deal.
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) – popularly nicknamed the ‘Bahubali’ thanks to metaphorical parallels drawn between the heavy-lifting capabilities of the rocket and the titular hero of that epic blockbuster Indian film – was all set for blast-off in the wee hours, at 2.51am to be precise.
But that was not to be.
In the last moment, just an hour before the scheduled launch, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stopped the countdown and called off the operation.
“A technical snag was noticed. We first have to approach the vehicle to assess the problem. First, we have to empty the fuel loaded in the rocket,” an ISRO official reported, adding that the rocket would have to be moved back to the vehicle assembly building for further examination, corrections and checks.
“This process will take 10 days. Only after that can we decide on the launch schedule,” he revealed.
“Inter-planetary missions are complicated since the planets move. A moon mission rocket is launched after calculating the position of the moon at a particular day so that the spacecraft can reach there,” a retired official said.
ISRO tweeted later: “As a measure of abundant precaution, #Chandrayaan2 launch has been called off for today. Revised launch date will be announced later.”
Yet, after this failed launch, which could easily have raised questions about India’s global competence in the field of space science, neither the ISRO team nor the Indian public lost heart and hope.
Surprisingly, the social media was abuzz with people lauding the ISRO for catching a glitch in time. But the sense of disappointment was also evident in some of those messages.
“It seems space enthusiasts may have to hold on to their excitement for weeks, if not months, till @isro is able to fix the technical glitch and is ready with the next launch window,” one user wrote.
In response, another user said: “So what? Tiger always takes 2 steps back before leaping towards prey successfully… We wait for you!! Good luck!!! Make us proud again and again…”
That wait ended not after months or weeks, but just a handful of days.
In the afternoon of July 22, up went the 43.4-metre tall, 640-tonne ‘Bahubali’ GSLV Mk-III rocket into the sky and slung the Chandrayaan-2 into orbit – in textbook style – within a matter of 16 minutes.
Comprised of three parts – the Orbiter, lander ‘Vikram’ and rover ‘Pragyan’ – Chandrayaan-2 will take a good one and a half months to reach its destination (384,400 km away from the Earth) and and carry out the mission. But thanks to its brilliant launch, Indians were already over the moon.
ISRO Chairman K. Sivan sounded ecstatic as he hailed the launch as a “historic day for science and technology in India”
“We had encountered a serious technical snag, but we fixed it. Team ISRO bounced back with flying colors. The team identifed the root cause of the failure in 24 hours. The snag was fixed in 1.5 days and tests were made to check the systems. The expert team was on the job for the past seven days to check the systems,” he revealed.
“For the past 1.5 years, the satellite team burned midnight oil to realise the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft. Now the mantle has been given to the satellite team. They will do 15 crucial manoeuvres over over the next 1.5 months. It is going to be 15 minutes of terror to safely land the Vikram lander on the South Pole of the moon. The world has been waiting for this mission,” Sivan added.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the first to laud the success of the launch.
“The historic launch of Chandrayaan2 from Sriharikota is a proud moment for all Indians. Congratulations to our scientists and engineers for furthering India’s indigenous space programme. May ISRO continue(s) to master new technologies and continue to conquer new frontiers,” the President said in a tweet.
“The mission is expected to lead to new discoveries and enrich our knowledge systems,” he added.
PM Modi said the event “will be etched in the annals of our glorious history”.
Noting that the Chandrayaan-2 is a fully indigenous mission that illustrates the prowess of Indian scientists and a matter of pride for every Indian, Modi said: “This mission will offer new knowledge about the Moon. Efforts such as Chandrayaan2 will further encourage our bright youngsters towards science, top-quality research and innovation.”
“Thanks to Chandrayaan, India’s Lunar Programme will get a substantial boost. Our existing knowledge of the Moon will be significantly enhanced,” the Prime Minister added.
The launch was not just a national event; the world had been watching.
Amid the deluge of praise and congratulatory wishes pouring in from everywhere within the country – from both houses of the Parliament, leaders across the political spectrum, India Inc and the sports and entertainment worlds – came those from the United States, Germany and Israel.
The Israeli embassy tweeted: “Congratulations India and Team @ISRO on successfully launching Mission #Chandrayaan2. Good luck on the @Chandrayaan2theMoon journey.”
The US embassy joined in with: “Congratulations #ISRO on today’s giant leap! Next stop – the moon’! #Chandrayaan2 #CantWaitToSeeWhatYouDoNext #GSLVMkIII.”
The German Embassy tweeted that it saw India as “a most valuable partner in cutting-edge research in space” and it was “proud to be a close partner of ISRO”.
Yet there is a long way to go before this ambitious and extremely challenging mission can successfully attain its objectives.
As per ISRO’s stated plan, on September 7 – the day when Chandrayaan is expected to land on the moon – the lander Vikram will break away from the Orbiter before performing a series of complex manoeuvres involving rough braking and fine braking.
Prior to landing, safe and hazard-free zones will be determined through imaging of the site and region.
Vikram is expected to soft-land from a height of 100 km from the Moon’s surface near its South Pole and carry out three scientific experiments. Later, the six-wheeled rover, Pragyan, will roll out and conduct two experiments on the lunar surface for a single lunar day which is equal to two weeks on Earth. As for the Orbiter, it will continue its mission for a year, conducting eight scientific experiments as it orbits in 100×100 km lunar orbit.
Determining the origins of the Moon is also one of the stated objectives of the mission.
History gives a clear indication of the enormity of the challenge ahead for the Chandrayaan-2 mission. Of the 38 soft landing attempts made so far on the moon, the success rate is only 52 per cent.
But fear of failure never drove any of humankind’s great achievements. Given that ISRO’s meticulous-to-a-fault scientists know that as well as anybody on earth, India should be all set for success on the moon.
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